The Beast Within
by MissiB
Summary: A new killer has come to Amestris. Three people have been attacked. One lived, two died, and now everyone is after it. Amestris, Xing, the Homunculi, all are hunting it, but only one can claim it. Who is going to be the victor? And what the hell is the Beast? Brotherhood. AU because Lust is still alive, set sometime after the events of episode 20.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood does not belong to me. All characters and references to the show belong to FUNimation.**_

The Beast Within

Prologue

Major Alex Louis Armstrong was a respectable man. He was, as the name suggested, a strong man with muscles to spare and a powerful state alchemist to boot. But despite how hard this might make him appear, Major Armstrong was a kind man, unafraid to cry with a very solid knowledge of right and wrong, ready to fight for what was right, and display his respectable muscles to any weary friend in need of empowerment or inspiration! (Yes...that's what those screams were from...inspiration...)

So, to sum up, Major Alex Louis Armstrong was a good man, with great friends and family he loved. So why would anyone attack him?

FMAB

It happened at night, when he was on his way home from work. The road was silent as he walked down the illuminated Central street, with barely a car or person in sight. On his way he passed a certain flower woman he knew and stopped by her cart to chat. A little while later, he left the little old woman with a rather large bouquet of lilies in his arm.

After that, Armstrong continued his journey home. As he was walking, he came across a dark alleyway, the inside of which the light didn't spread to and so it was completely pitch black. Not many people were stupid enough to venture into this alleyway at night, so Armstrong was rather surprised when he heard a large crash from within.

"My goodness!" he cried, jumping back with a heart that was hammering against his chest. Staring into the alleyway in surprise for a second, he grumbled quietly before going to continue his walk.

But...wait...what was that? Whimpers? Cries of pain? Was someone hurt in there?!

Armstrong stopped, and looked into the alleyway again "Is someone in there?" he called, still carrying the lilies and moving closer to the alley's dark opening "Hello? Are you in need of assistance? I am a state alchemist, I can help you!"

"...p...please help me..."

There _was _someone in there! Without any further ado, Armstrong strode into the alley, calling out for the poor trapped soul to keep talking so he could find them amidst all this darkness. Eventually the voice was right beside his feet, and he bent on his knees and patted around on the ground until he felt a small hand underneath his.

"Is that you?" he asked, and he felt the hand curl into a fist.

"Y-yes. But please don't pull on me!" the high voice (it's gender was unidentifiable) cried as Armstrong went to do so. He stopped instantly, releasing the bodies arms "I-I'm trapped underneath something. S-something heavy!"

The voice started to sniffle, whimpering in pain, and Armstrong let go of it's hand to pat up it's body, feeling skinny arms and a thick mass of tangled hair until he came to-

Armstong gasped. This poor, weak human being! It's body was trapped under a huge block of concrete!

"Stay still!" he instructed the body, dropping the lilies to the ground and flinging off his shirt "I'm going to lift this off of you!"

He heard a gasp of relief "Oh _thank-you! _Thank-you so much!"

"Think nothing of it, civilian!" Armstrong curved his fingers under the edge of the thick concrete and began to lift "Chivalry has...been passed down...the Armstrong family...for _generations!"_

With a heavy grunt, he lifted the concrete into the air with both hands. It was a heavy thing, but nothing he, the Strong Arm Alchemist, couldn't handle!

"Oh my God! I'm _free!" _said the happy voice, and Armstrong could hear the owner scrambling to it's feet.

"You should stay on the ground!" he tried to advise them "You don't know what injuries you might have sustained, you may need a doctor!"

"Oh, no I don't" said the voice, and Armstrong frowned as he heard small, patting footsteps in front of him. The voice was too confident. Something...didn't feel right...

"In fact, Major Armstrong" the high voice continued "All I _really _need is...You"

All at once the concrete slipped from the Major's hands, crashing on the ground and cracking the concrete. Armstrong fell to his knee's, his blue eyes went wide as a sudden pain sliced into him, and when his mouth coughed, he felt his lifeblood dribble down his chin.

_...stabbed...in the stomach..._his thoughts whispered..._no...the heart...no...the arms...no...the-_

A throbbing pain pierced his head, and Alex Louis Armstrong, army major and state alchemist, watched the black world blur and then disappear before his eyes, dimly aware of the blades removing themselves from his body.

By the time his back slammed onto the ground of the cold, dark alley, he was beyond all sensation, unable to see his attacker stand above him, and unable hear the cruel laughter over his lifeless body.

FMAB

Lan Fan was a good person. She was brave, valiant and strong. She did her duty like a good bodyguard of Xing, and though she cared deeply for her charge, she had the good sense to never, _ever _act on it. She cared for her grandfather, the only family she had left, and would rather die than bring shame to her clan.

So why would anyone attack her?

FMAB

The bodyguard knew that it was her job to protect Ling Yao, the prince of Xing, while they were searching for immortality in Amestris. She knew that she was supposed to guard him with her life, and stop anyone who might try to harm him, but there were some days where she just felt like throwing her head back and screaming to the heavens: "HES RIGHT HERE! HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"

Like tonight. Once again, the young lord had evaded his bodyguards and disappeared into the city, leaving Lan Fan to search the entirety of Central to find him. Good thing she could navigate herself at night! What if he had gotten himself into trouble, or collapsed in the street again?! Sometimes...that man was so foolish!

Jumping onto a nearby roof-top, Lan Fan's dark eyes scanned the dimly-lit Central street through her mask, and she felt disappointment like a dead weight in her stomach when she saw nothing apart from a few solitary Amestrian drifters. There was no sign of the young lord.

"Where _is_ he?!" Lan Fan muttered, and bent into a crouch to jump off the roof before a movement to the left caught her eye. The movement of a lithe body with black hair, vanishing in a blur when it dipped into a nearby alley.

_The prince?_

Lan Fan jumped from roof to roof until she reached the alley and dropped inside. She stood still, finding herself in pitch blackness and closing her eyes to use the Dragons Pulse to try and locate the Chi of her charge in the darkness.

If she was right...then to find the Prince she would have to go tend feet forward and six feet to the left, right into the darkness of the alley. Running forward, she travelled along the path and dipped into a curve to her left. As she had suspected, it was pitch black here, but she could still feel the presence of another body's Chi.

So she called out "Young Lord?"

Suddenly, Lan Fan felt the air currents change, and in a split second she bent over backwards as something sharp rushed over her head, narrowly missing her skull and torso. Had she ducked a second later, her brain and neck would surely have been stabbed.

Panting, Lan Fan stared up at the attack she could not see. What the...what the hell was that?!

"You're faster than I thought" said a high voice, and Lan Fan heard footsteps as she bent her legs and dropped to the ground in a fighting stance. "That's good. I _like _speed"

Lan Fan could tell from the Chi her attacker was radiating that they were getting closer to her, and she pulled out two kunai's from her sleeves and readied them for another attack.

_I don't have time for this! _She thought impatiently, _I have an idiot prince to find!_

"Leave now!" she ordered her opponent, gripping her kunai in her hands "I have no wish to take anyone's life tonight!"

From the depths of the alley, she heard a dark, trilling laugh.

"Well that's funny, girly! Because I really _do!"_

Lan Fan cried out when something struck her in the face and sent her propelling six feet down the length of the alley. The unexpected attack had her landing hard on her back and shattered her mask. Her kunai nearly slipped from her grasp, but she withheld her grip on the handles.

"A mask, huh?" said the voice, and Lan Fan jumped to her feet as she felt the Chi coming towards her again. Pushing her leg back, she waited for her opponent to come close enough to attack "That's a shame, I hate it when I have to draw these things ou-"

The voice didn't get to finish because at that moment Lan Fan sprinted up the wall at her fastest speed and jumped onto the attacking body. But she had mis-judged it's size, and before she could wrap her legs around it's neck they fell to the ground and she fell off and rolled on the concrete. But this didn't deter her, and she pushed herself to her feet and ran forward with another burst of speed, both of her kunai outstretched and ready to be plunged them her opponents neck.

"Oh, I don't _think so!"_

She heard the rushing of wind again, and she ducked when another spiking blade came towards her head, then jumped to avoid another, and ran up the wall to avoid yet another that swiped at her feet.

_How many blades does this man have?! _Lan Fan wondered. Pushing her legs off the wall, she propelled herself forwards and stretched her kunai out to drive them deep into her opponent. She would not be beaten a malicious street urchin!

"Agh!" Lan Fan cried out and cursed when she landed, not on her opponent but on the floor, hissing as she nursed a broken wrist. She...she had been _caught!_ Her attacker had caught her by the wrist and crushed in their bare hand before throwing her too the ground! But how?! With her speed, no-one could avoid her attacks! And how were they so str-?

_Whhiiiishhh!_

"Gah!" Lan Fan cursed when she heard the blades again and rolled out of the way. Rolling until she was on her front, she readied herself by the nearest wall-the wall that was behind her opponent-as she heard them speak again.

"You think you're safe in the dark, little girl?" it spat "You can't hide from me!"

"Oh, I have no intention of hiding!" Springing back onto her feet, Lan Fan ran across the walls and readied herself to dive towards them again. But-

_CRASH!_

Something heavy crashed into the wall, inches away from Lan Fan, and the bricks exploded around her and dislodged her footing so that she fell heavily to the ground yet again. As she fell, she felt something poke at her waist, something thin and cold trying to wrap around her, like a stong thick cable. Pulling out a kunai, she stabbed the cable deeply, and it sharply withdrew from her body.

"Aargh!" a shriek. From her _opponet. _"Damn you, you little bitch! I'll finish you nice and _slow!_"

Landing on her feet, Lan Fan felt adrenaline racing through her at what she'd just realised.

_It cried out when I stabbed that cable...which means somehow it's connected to it...and I hurt it..._

_And if I hurt it, that means I can kill it!_

Fuelled by this new knowledge, Lan Fan ran along the walls again, jumping over the deep dent in the walls and towards the wall tops. Her aim, this time, was not to attack it in the darkness of this alley, but to draw it into the light and open air where she would have more room to attack. She would finish this fight and find her young lord, even if it took her all-

_Oh._

Lan Fan stilled, her legs giving out from underneath her, and her arms dropping along her sides, yet she did not fall from the wall. No, she would not be finishing this fight, nor would she be finding the prince, she realised as pain sliced through her heart and stomach, and blood filled her mouth and trickled from her lips.

_Those blades..._she thought, gasping in pain as she was lifted from the wall and pulled unceremoniously to the ground, _forgive me, grandfather, I wasn't fast enough..._

"That's right, you relax now" mocked the high voice, which was coming steadily closer as Lan Fan's lifeblood drained away. Silently, she cursed her far-too-easy capture. She was the bodyguard of a prince, dammit! She was not supposed to be caught so easily! What would her grandfather think if she brought such shame on their clan? In a desperate bid to survive, she started to struggle and try to pull off the blades. The pain this caused was so intense she almost screamed, but was prevented when something heavy slammed over her mouth. As her opponent-or perhaps she should call him the damn Victor now-moved to her side, four more blades stabbed into her hands and legs, and her heavy gag muffled her screams.

"Now, now" said the voice, almost soothingly, and as the body bent over her Lan Fan could feel the ends of long hair brushing against her face "No screaming, little girl" the blade in her stomach twisted, and Lan Fan couldn't help another muffled scream. Screaming was all she could do at this point, her movements were becoming sluggish, and her vision was becoming blurred. She knew what was happening now...

Then, a sixth blade joined the five in her hands, legs, stomach and heart. It stabbed lightly into her forehead, and Lan Fan coughed another pool of blood as she felt it press into her skull. Above her, the voice continued it's mockery.

"I do hope you're not going to die just yet, little girl" it said, the blade driving deeper into her forehead, causing blood to trickle into her eyes "You see, you hurt me with that nasty knife of yours, and I meant it when I said I wanted to finish you sl..."

But Lan Fan didn't hear the rest of the mockery. Her eyes had already fluttered closed, and her body had stopped moving, sucking in her lungs vital oxygen one last time, Lan Fan, bodyguard to Prince Ling Yao, breathed her last breath.

_Grandfather...young lord...I'm sorry...I failed you..._

FMAB

Envy the homunculus was a monster. He was cruel, sadistic, vain and arrogant. He had a bloodlust that was almost on a psychopathic level, and hated humans with an intensity that burned brighter than any flame.

But Envy was also strong. He had been alive for almost three centuries and the years had taught him well. He was a formidable opponent, with an ability to change his limbs into any kind of weapon, living or otherwise. Not to mention that his true form was that of a gargantuan beast that could crush any living being with a wave of it's giant claw.

So why would anyone be stupid enough to attack him?

FMAB

Envy hummed in pleasure as he brought a spoon of chocolate ice-cream into his mouth. Yes, he considered humans pathetic fools, a waste of the planets evolution that were nothing compared the power of the homunculi, but sometimes, on very rare occasions, they came up with some damn good stuff.

Like knickerbocker glories for instance, a delicious concoction of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, lathered with chocolate syrup and sprinkled with raspberries. Envy had gotten a taste of one when he was posing as Pride one time (Pride himself had been busy, venturing into the secret transmutation circle to tear nosy humans to shreds and whatnot) and Mrs Bradley took him to an ice cream parlor while Wrath was busy being the Fuhrer. One taste had been enough. Now, he couldn't get enough of them.

That was why, whenever he got the chance, Envy would slip out of his Father's hideout, disguise himself as some pathetic human, and order his favourite chocolate and vanilla ice-cream from the nearest parlor.

Scraping the last remnants of iced sweetness from the glass, the homunculus drew it into his mouth and sucked it clean, relishing in the taste and the chill and why the hell was someone tapping his shoulder?

"Excuse me? Sir?"

Turning around, Envy suppressed an annoyed growl and turned around to the fool who was disturbing him. It was the parlor owner, a fat man with a stupid white cap to go with his stupid white beard "Yes?"

"The parlors closing now"

"Ah, I see" said Envy, rising from his seat and brushing down his blue military suit, turning to the door and nodding at the owner "Goodnight then"

"Goodnight sir. Safe journey"

Envy didn't respond and just left the parlor. He didn't make a habit of conversing with humans as he had more important things to do with his time. Like watching paint dry, for instance.

On his way back to Central Command, Envy dipped into the shadows of a nearby building and changed out of the sandy-haired military man he'd been impersonating and back into his own adorable form. As he felt his long dark hair and favoured black skort and gloves materialise, he released a happy sigh. Yes, this was _much _better...

But wait. What the hell was _that?_

It had been the barest of movements, but the homunculus had still been able to see it, just out of the corner of his cat-like purple eye. He turned, and saw someone small duck behind a nearby telephone booth. Envy cursed under his breath. They must've seen him change...dammit, he really _was _getting careless!

Well, whoever they were, if they had seen him change then they had to die. The homunculi couldn't have some chatter-box human running around telling everyone they'd seen a shape-shifter, could they? That would draw far too much attention!

And so, Envy began to stride over to the lower life-form behind the telephone booth, wondering whether he should turn his arm into a sword or a venomous python for the kill? A sword would get the job done quicker, but with the python he would get to see the human writhe with agony-

Then Envy got to the phone box, and frowned in confusion "What?"

It was lifeless. There was no-one there. Had it been a trick of the light? No! His homunculi eyes would never be so easily deceived! Perhaps the human had simply moved? But he was sure he would've noticed, he hadn't taken his eyes off the phone booth for an instant-

_Aha!_

There they were! Running down the street! As the body (he couldn't tell the sex from here) ran around the corner Envy chased after it, getting there with twice the amount of speed just in time to see it run into an alleyway...thirty feet from him.

Envy paused, staring at the body as it dipped into the alley. _How the hell was this guy so fast?_

_Never mind their speed, you idiot! Get over there and kill him already!_

The homunculus started running again, getting to the alley and running inside. The alley was deeper than he thought, and despite the red glow of his eyes he couldn't see in this darkness, but he knew the human had rushed in here, and he just had to find them. So, with a flash of crackling red light, Envy transformed himself into a huge golden lion, a form that served two purposes; One, the eyes could see in the dark, and two, he could use his massive incisors to tear the human limb from limb.

Stalking his prey slowly, Envy tracked his eyes over the darkness he could now see through. He was pleased to see that it was a dead-end alley, meaning that the human had nowhere to run. There was a large cardboard box a few feet from him, admist some other junk, and behind it Envy could see a thick crop of long hair. He grinned. How like a typical human to cower so pathetically! This night just got better and better...

"I know you saw me, human!" the homunculus called out, his voice lilting and teasing, his paws padding on the concrete as he approached the box, delving deeper into the darkness "You may as well come out now, there's nowhere for you to run!"

Sniffles came from the shaking frame behind the box, and the sound of human misery was like music to Envy's ears. As he came to the very edge of the box, so close that his breath ruffled his victims exposed hair, he parted his lips and let out a low, carnivorous growl.

_STAB!_

"OW!" Envy let out the most embarrassing yip and leapt back from the box, pain scorching in his nose. What the hell?! Was he just stabbed in the freaking nose?!

Putting a paw over his burning nose, Envy growled again, lifting his maned head to see that the body he'd been chasing was now facing him. It was just half of the body, but the homunculus could still see the thick black hair, the colourless white eyes, and the wide, sadistic grin that was full of sharp white teeth.

_Those eyes...those teeth...what the hell is this thing? _Not being human himself, Envy knew another non-human when he saw it, and this thing he'd so blindly chased down was definitely _not human._

_Pha! _Envy scoffed to himself, stepping back and bracing his paws on the ground, _human or not, I'm still gonna rip this creature into shreds-WHAT THE HELL?!_

"Gaah!" leaping into the air Envy jumped back a couple of feet. The creature had burst out from behind the box and thrusted it's small chest out towards the homunculus. A thick, fleshy, knife-like _thing _had exploded from it's body, and stabbed out towards a shocked Envy and nearly pierced him right in the forehead.

Envy jumped back just in time, narrowly avoiding a lost eye. _Crap, _he inwardly cursed,_ I got lucky...now what the hell is this freak?! _

"What the hell are you, you freak?!" Envy screamed, but rather than getting an answer, another one of the creatures spikes flew towards him, and again Envy was forced to dodge, but not before the spike cut into his shoulder, bringing forth his blood.

"OW! Dammit!" Envy shrieked, feeling his temper rise at the pain in his bleeding shoulder and glaring at the creature. A growl rose from his throat, and he felt his long claws extend and scratch the concrete. _O.k this thing wants a fight? I'm gonna damn well give it a fight!_

With a roar, the homunculus reared back on his haunches and leapt forward into the air, baring his claws and opening his jaw wide to bite this bastards head off!

But, as he flew over the creatures head, the demonic little monster snapped it up towards him, it's white eyes piercing Envy's red ones and it's teeth still on full display in it's huge, red-lipped grin. Envy knew that grin well, it was one he often wore when some pathetic human was about to die at his hand. It was the grin of triumph, of someone who knew they had won.

_Oh crap._

As the homunculus soared through the air, four more spikes of flesh, thinner than the one from it's chest, burst forth from the creatures arms, and Envy hissed in pain as the thin spikes ripped through each of his legs one by one, holding him in place above the creature as the fifth one-from his chest-lifted up like a spear and stabbed him in the chest, right where his heart was supposed to be.

Envy coughed, blood spurting from the lions mouth and splashing onto the creatures face. The creature only grinned wider, and poked out a pink tongue to lick off the red droplets, seeming to relish the taste.

"Mm, yes" the creature spoke with it's high voice "You'll do just fine"

Envy coughed again, spitting more blood on the ground as he tried in vain to lift his limbs off of the spikes. His whole body screamed in protest, but the homunculus gritted his massive teeth and tried to bear it. Dammit...he couldn't transform like this! Otherwise all he'd have to do was turn himself into a Goddamn bee and he'd be out of here!

"I need to borrow something of yours, Homunculus" said the creature, and Envy jerked. How did this thing know what he was?!

"How the h-AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" a scream of pain cut off his question as the spike in his chest moved within him, sliding through the fat and organs as if they weren't there and causing Envy terrible pain. He continued to scream until another spike of flesh drove into his mouth and through the back of his throat. He heard the creature sigh.

"It's just like I told the little girl, homunculus. I _don't _want any screaming! Now, where is that pesky little-aha!"

Envy started to panic when he felt the spike close around his philosophers stone. A white hot pain exploded through him, and tears pricked his eyes. Oh no, surely he wasn't going to-_oh dear God he was! He was pulling out his philosophers stone! The spike was pulling out his Goddamn philosophers stone!_

_No! Not that! Without that stone, I'll be nothing more than a pathetic green slug! _Again, Envy tried to fight, but with the way the creature had him trapped it was beyond pointless, and all Envy could do was scream his muffled screams around the spike as his precious philosophers stone was ripped from his body.

"There we go, no trouble at all" he saw the creature smile as it withdrew it's spike from his chest, and Envy saw the red glint of his philosophers stone as the flesh was sucked back into the small body. Already, he could feel his glorious frame decomposing, and he knew that soon he would have to exchange it for the hideous, slug-like form he so despised.

And all because of this...this...

"W-what the h-hell are you?" he stuttered while he still had use of his body. The creature laughed.

"Does it matter? You'll be dead soon anyway!"

And with that, a sixth and final spike plunged into Envy's forehead, causing blood to drip into his eyes so he could only feel the creature used it's thick, fleshy spikes to tear apart his glorious body. His limbs slowly, painfully ripped from his torso and fell to the hard ground, and on impact they disintergrated into ancient dust.

_**O.k, I think we can all safely assume that I just earned my one-way ticket to Hell. But before I get there, do you think you could spare me just one little review to tell me what you thought? This is my first multi-chapter FMAB fanfic and I wanna know what you think, if anyone's interested, I plan on updating on a weekly basis, so the next chapter will be up on the 19th.**_

_**Also, any mistakes I made, feel free to correct me.**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood does not belong to me. All characters and references to the show belong to FUNimation.**_

The Beast Within

Chapter 1

Major Armstrong was found by Sergeant Denny Brosh.

It had been morning, and he had been on his way to Central Command when he'd heard a high pitched scream. Immediately, he'd turned his car around and followed the screams to a nearby alley, where a young woman with red hair was standing over what looked like a white bear. Brosh immediately got out of his car and ran into the alley, pulling out his credentials and grabbing the hysterical woman by the shoulder.

"Hey! Calm down!" he ordered when the woman spun around to him "My name is Sergeant Brosh from Central Command-"

"Oh, thank God!" the woman cried, her face falling into her hands and breathing heavily into them. Then, with a shaking hand, she pointed at the figure on the concrete "I-I f-found him this morning...h-he was just laying there a-and there was so much blood!" she sobbed into her hands, and Brosh left her too it, looking down at the body for himself.

Sergeant Brosh recognised the major instantly, of course. The body itself was huge and shirtless, and the golden curl on his forehead was unmistakable. The body was soaked in blood, probably from the multiple lacerations on his arms, stomach and forehead. The lacerations were like large holes, as though the Major had been shot repeatedly with oversized bullets.

And right below the trademark Armstrong curl? A huge, blood-clotted bullet wound.

Major Armstrong...he was dead.

Sergeant Brosh turned pure white. His mind screamed denials. He wanted nothing more than to just drop to his knees and scream himself hoarse, but he held off that particular instinct and instead pushed the shaking red-head out towards the entrance to the alley, ordering her to get help, to call a doctor, NOW!

The red-head jumped at the scream, and soon rushed out of the alley, and Brosh's gaze was once again drawn to the Majors body. He looked at his bloodied face. His moustache was soaked in crimson, and his skin was pure white. His blue eyes were still open, and wide as though still in shock. Dear God...what had happened to him?

Like he was in a trance, Brosh lowered himself onto his knees, and with a trembling hand he gently touched the Majors eyelids, bringing them down over his eyes, so he looked like he could be sleeping.

If Brosh hadn't already been on his knee's, he would've collapsed to them by now. His body started to tremble, his neck bent, and his hands clenched into fists on the concrete. This...this was inhuman. First Brigadier General Hughes, then Maria Ross, and now Major Armstrong? What kind of a world was this?! Wasn't anyone with a shred of humanity safe anymore?!

A silent tear traced down Brosh's face, and when he turned his head he saw that a small crowd had gathered at the end of the alley, crowding the scene like vultures, and that suddenly made him burn with an unnatural rage.

"Don't just stand there!" he roared, so furiously that some of them actually turned and ran "Get help, dammit! Get help for the Major!"

FMAB

Lan Fan was found by Ling Yao.

After his departure from Lan Fan, he had returned to Ed and Al's hotel room that evening, expecting to find her there waiting for him with one of her famous death glares. When there had been no sign of her, for him or the Elrics, he'd decided to wait for her to join him, sure that she would return eventually to see if he himself had returned. But as the hours grew later, and Lan Fan didn't return, he began to worry, and when she still wasn't there at dawn, he'd left the hotel to search for her while the Elrics were still sleeping.

He'd looked for a long time, narrowly avoiding soldiers who might recognise him as an illegal alien (again...) by hiding behind buildings and alleyways, and jumping on top of roofs.

It was upon his twenty-fourth roof where he found her. The light of the early morning sun shone into Amestris and lit up the maze-like alley Ling was perched above. He cast his eyes away from the bright light, and it was then that he saw what remained of the young girls body.

At first, Ling thought his blinded eyes were playing tricks on him. Then he looked again, and then he blinked. But it was still there, and it wasn't going away. Which meant what he was seeing...was real.

Lan Fan's body. Laying in a pool of it's own blood with multiple gouges in her arms, legs, stomach and forehead, her hair strewn about her face and her eyes closed underneath the gaping hole in her skull, almost like she could be sleeping.

Or perhaps _he _was sleeping, and this was all some terrible nightmare and he would soon wake up and Lan Fan would still be alive, as she should. Because she couldn't be...no...she couldn't be...

He dropped down from the roof and touched her skin, feeling for a pulse, he was met with nothing but still, frozen skin.

She was dead.

"_NO!" _Ling screamed into the dawn, his fists crashing down on the concrete next to her so hard it cracked, his head bowing before her so his hair almost dipped into her blood. A pain flooded his into chest, and it seemed to spread to his lungs and make him gasp. His eyes pricked, and his throat burned with unshed tears.

She was dead. She'd been murdered.

_She was murdered...because she was looking for me. _Ling gasped, and tears started to flow down his face as he wept for his bodyguard. With a shaking hand, he reached out and touched hers. Immediately, his fingers were coated with blood.

Raising his head, he forced himself to look at her face. It was as pale as the moon, the bright crimson of her blood a cruel contrast against it. She didn't look scared, or in pain, but from those wounds Ling knew she must have been in agony. And it was all his fault.

"Lan Fan..." Ling's broken voice forced itself from his throat, and he lowered his head until it joined his warm hand upon her cold one "I am so sorry..."

FMAB

Envy was found by Pride.

It had been a usual dull day in Central. Wrath had gone off to Central Command to do their Father's bidding, and Pride had been left at home with the old butler and Mrs Bradley, as per usual. On these days she would dote on him endlessly, picking out books for him to read and taking him out to special places in Central. Today, it was the ice-cream parlour a few streets down from their home where Envy thought no-one knew he sneaked off to. Mrs Bradley would talk to him in an endless bout of chirrupy chatter, asking about his school and his friends (who, in his opinion, seemed to have rocks for brains) and he would respond in an equally exstatic way. It was quite a performance, not one he minded admitting that he pulled off quite well.

After a few hours, he, Mrs Bradley and the butler-'Gramps' she called him-got back into the car and started to drive back to their home. Pride had been looking out of the window in the bored fashion of a child when the vehicle curved on the next street, and it was there that his sharp eyes caught sight of the little green thing.

Normally, Pride wouldn't have given it much thought. He would've simply shrugged it off as another piece of litter the idiotic humans were using to destroy their planet and not thought more about it. But as the car passed, the little homunculus felt something stir in him. Like...like a connection to something outside. It was usually a sensation he felt whenever he was around the other homunculi. Was one of them nearby?

Pride focused outside the window, and was shocked to his very core when he saw his younger brother, Envy, laying on his side on some street corner. In his TRUE FORM!

_That IDIOT!_

Envy, that fool! He had used up his damn philosophers stone and now he was laying out on the street for anyone to see! That idiot! His stupidity boardered on that of the humans sometimes!

"Master Bradley?" said Gramps, sounding concerned, and when Pride looked up he realised that the old man must've seen his darkened expression in the mirror. Inwardly, he groaned. _Well, I guess I'll have to be the one to rescue the idiot._

"Gramps, stop the car!" he cried, unbuckling his belt and leaping forward against the front seat. Both Mrs Bradley and Gramps gasped.

"Master Bradley! I'm afraid I must insist you sit back down!"

"Selim! Sit back down at once, young man!"

It was an effort for him not to roll his eyes._ Oh, for God sakes!_ "Please Gramps! You need to stop the car _now!"_

"He will do no such thing! Now sit down!" ordered Mrs Bradley, and Pride felt something burn within him when he felt her hands on his shoulders, trying to force him into his seat. He wriggled out of her grasp, and continued to plauge Gramps without pause. The old man was getting flustered.

"Master Bradly-!"

"Just do it! Come on, Gramps, _please!_"

"Gramps, do _not _stop this car!"

The car lurched to a halt and Pride immediately got out, running down the street like an eager child and ignoring Gramps' call. Fortunately they hadn't gotten too far from Envy's resting place, around thirty, thirty-five feet at most, so the eldest homunculus was soon standing over his brother. Who, safe to say, was not looking his best. He was in his leech form, and his oversized purple eyes were closed. But Pride could still see his small body moving as he wheezed his breaths. So, he was still alive, then.

Pride nudged the pitiful excuse for a homunculus with his foot, and slowly, Envy's eyes opened. Blinking in the harsh sunlight, he looked up at the boy "...Pride? Wah!"

Envy shrieked when Pride suddenly stooped down to his knee's and used his thumb and forefinger to pick him up by his tail. Bringing him to dangle in front of his face, Prides true voice hissed out of his mouth.

"What do you think you're doing out here, you idiot? Did you not realise that anyone could see you?!"

Envy scoffed "Yeah, Pride, that _never _occurred to me!" he squeaked sarcastically, glaring hatefully at the brown eyed homunculus "I didn't exactly ask to be stuck out here in this body, moron-!"

"Watch who you're calling a moron, slug!" Pride retorted, squeezing Envy's tail between his fingers until he squeaked in pain.

"O.k, O.k, I'm sorry!" he cried, and Pride softened his grip, satisfied.

"So, what areyou doing out here, anyway?"

"I was attacked" Envy answered, though he seemed reluctant to admit this. Pride's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're saying a _human _did this to you?!" his layered voice snarled with malice. Oh, if the idiot had shamed the homunculi name by getting his ass kicked by a human then he was gonna kill him!

"Hell no!" Envy roared in his high squeak, wriggling furiously "No human could do this much damage to me! It was-"

"_Selim!"_ Envy was interrupted by Gramps, who was calling out to Pride as he ran towards them "Come back here at once, young man!"

"Damn..." Pride cursed, seeing his adoptive mother looking out anxiously from the car window. He looked back at Envy. Envy looked back at him, and the boy sighed "Well, we can't leave you here, can we?" he said, almost to himself "I'll take you to Wrath, and he'll take you to Father"

"Good!" said Envy, and he squeaked in protest when Pride shoved him into his shorts pocket "Hey! Be careful!"

"Silence!" Pride hissed, and Envy fell begrudgingly quiet as the butler reached his charge. When the Gramps reached him, Pride endured a scolding from him for the next five minutes, ducking his head in childish shame and sniffling like he was holding back tears of guilt. Then came the awkward moment where Gramps asked him why on earth he'd had to stop the car in the first place. Fortunately, Pride had a readymade excuse.

"I thought I saw a cat out here, Gramps! I thought that maybe if I brought it to Mom and asked her, she might let me keep it!" he looked down the street sadly "But...it ran away from me instead!"

Gramps blinked at him in surprise, then he sighed, a look of grandfatherly compassion forming on his face, and to Prides irritation he lifted a gloved hand and ruffled the boys hair.

"Now Master Bradley" he said gently, "You _know _your mother won't allow you to have pets in the house!"

Biting his lip, Pride nodded "I know" he said sadly "I just thought-"

"I'm sure you did, young man" said Gramps, and he put a hand on Prides shoulder to lead him back to the car "But your parents wishes must always be followed"

Pride supressed a smirk, _don't I know that all too well? _He thought as they walked back to the car to endure a long lecture from Mrs Bradley, Envy unmoving in his pocket.

_Ugh, it's stuffy in here! _Envy thought as he fought to stay still in Prides pocket so the humans wouldn't find him, _Dammit, this is all that damn freaks fault! _He thought vehmently, _if I ever find that thing again, I'm gonna make it wish it was never even born! All I need is a stone...just wait 'till I get a stone!_

FMAB

That morning, Edward Elric woke up in his bed, but he did not leave it just yet. Staring up at the ceiling, the Fullmetal Alchemist let his mind wander. Lieutnant Colonel Hughes popped into his head a couple times, as did Maria Ross. Then his mind fell upon his recent trip to Resembool, and the transmuted corpse that had turned out not to be his mother, which unfortunatley led him down the path of seeing that bastard Hoenhiem at his mothers grave.

_"You did it to destroy the evidence...it's just like a child who hides the sheets after he wets the bed..."_

Ed glowered at the ceiling. Damn bastard, thinking he had a right to say any of that after the crap he'd pulled on him and Al-

"Brother? You awake?"

Ed's glower faded when he heard Al's voice, and he actually managed a smile when he turned to face his brother. He was on the other bed, despite the fact that he couldn't sleep, and his emotionless helmet was turned towards him, watching him.

"Yeah" Ed responded, sitting up on his mattress and stretching his arms and neck "Morning Alphonse!"

"Morning brother" Al responded cheerily "You were dreaming again" he added gently, and Ed stiffened, but then nodded. Another nightmare...

"Yeah...yeah, I was"

Al didn't say anymore than that, and Ed was grateful that he didn't probe further. Leaning back on his bed again, he lifted his head to the ceiling and threw his flesh arm over his eyes-

_SMASH!_

Edward and Alphonse leapt from their beds and ran into the lounge. The window had been smashed in, and amongst the broken glass that covered the coffee table and couch was the Xingise prince Ling Yao, standing in the shards with blood trickling from his skin where the glass had stabbed him. He looked at the Elric brothers, his eyes open for once, unveiling their black depths.

"_LING?! _WHAT THE HELL?!" Edward roared "WHY CAN'T YOU OPEN THE WINDOW LIKE A NORMAL PERSON, YOU IDIOT?! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THIS MESS IS GONNA TAKE TO CLEAN UP-?!"

"Brother!"

"WHAT AL?!" Ed roared. The armoured brother pointed at the prince.

"Look at him!" he said, something dark in his voice "Brother, look at his face!"

"Why?!" snapped Ed, looking around at the prince while still ranting "What could be so special about this window shattering idiots fa-?"

Ed finally looked at Ling, and his words caught in his throat, his anger disappearing as he got a good look at the princes face. Like the rest of him, it was nicked from where he'd smashed into the window, and tiny droplets of blood beaded on his flesh.

It was his eyes, however, that made Edward stop. Rare though it was too see them open, the Fullmetal Alchemist could still recognise the deep depths of despair within the black irises. Despair, sorrow, and rage, not to mention the red rings around the slanted skin that made it obvious he'd been crying.

Edward had seen those eyes before. Not on Ling, but on himself and his brother ten years ago, on the day of their mothers funeral.

Those were the eyes of the grief stricken. Of those who had suffered a great, great loss.

"Ed...Al..." said Ling, his voice quivering as he spoke to the brothers "I need your help!"

FMAB

The prince brought them to an abandoned warehouse, where he had hidden the body from prying eyes. Edward looked down at the covered body of Lan Fan, the teenage bodyguard he'd fought in Rush Valley. Beside him, he heard Al gasp, and the gentle clink as his armour shook with emotion. In silence, the three boys looked down at the vessel that had once held a human soul, now laid down on the wooden floor and covered by a black coat, where copper-coloured blood curdled on the edges.

_A body...another one dead..._the thought whispered through Edwars mind like a sinister reminder, _it's just like when we saw Tucker and Nina..._

"Ling..." Al's voice interrupted Ed's train of thought, but he didn't look away from the body. For some reason, he seemed unable to "How did this...?" Al didn't finish, and evidentally didn't have to. Ed looked up just in time to see Ling shake his head. His eyes were still open, and carefully avoiding the black coat on the ground. The Fullmetal alchemist could see the dispair in them, the grief, and something else he couldn't place...

"I found her like this this morning" said the prince, his voice completely devoid of emotion "She...she was covered in stab wounds, like she had been attacked" he paused, and swallowed "She _was _attacked" he corrected himself. There was a moment of silence, and Edward, knowing all to well the powerful emotion of grief, raised his flesh left hand and placed it comfortingly on Ling's shoulder, but to his surprise Ling shrugged it off and walked to the coat covering the body. Ed was confused for a moment, until he saw a shaking bandaged hand reach for the covering. Ed'a eyes widened. Surely he wasn't going to-

"I haven't been in your country long enough to know the dangers that are within it" his fingers curled around the edge of the coat, and he prepared to lift "And as you two are citizens of Amestris, I'm hoping you'll be able to recognise these wounds"

"Ling stop!" Ed cried as Ling went to pull up the coverings, and the prince automatically halted, but not before the coat was lifted to reveal a mutilated right arm. Ed's golden eyes fixed on it in helpless horror. It was soaked in blood, whiter than white, and in the light filtering into the warehouse the Alchemist could see the deep wound that was gouged through her uniform. He couldn't blame Al for his horrified gasp.

It was like nothing he had ever seen. Literally.

"What?" said Ling, his voice agressive and his head snapping towards the Elric brothers "I can't take her to a coroner, so you two are the only chance I've got of identifying this monster!"

"Ling..." Edward was already shaking his head, looking down at the coat once again "I'm sorry, but, Al and I have lived here for three years, and we've never heard of any attack that could've taken down your bodyguard" he knew what he was talking about with this one. He had fought Lan Fan in Rush Valley, he knew no common mugger or murderer could take her down. Unless...Scar? But he only went after State Alchemists-

"Please!" Ling's broken voice cried out in the abandoned warehouse, and a jolt of surprise caught in the young alchemists chest when he saw that there were actual tears in his eyes. In this moment, he was not the annoying boy Ed had met in Rush Valley, nor the twelfth son of Xing's emperor. In this moment, he was just a fifteen year old boy, desperately grasping at straws that would explain his friends death "Please, I'm begging you..." his voice shook with emotion "I have to know what did this..." he was still knelt on the ground, and his head bowed, almost like he was begging "Please..."

The two brothers looked at each other, each calculating the other ones thoughts. Ed turned back to Ling "Ling, listen. You can't know what ki...what did this to her, without a coroner"

"But I already told you, I can't take her there!" Ling roared "The place will be all over with Central men, and if I get arrested again I...I can't continue my search for the philosophers stone!" he raised a fist to his face, his shame evident in his body language, and it was with a broken tone that he spoke again "I know it sounds selfish, but I...I have to keep moving. I _have _to continue my search. For my people's sake"

He didn't look up at the brothers, his whole body shaking with the grief he felt. They looked at each other again, understanding fully what he was going through, understanding his need to keep moving forward in his goal, no matter what. An idea passed through them, and Ed looked down at the fallen prince once again.

"Ling, I've got an idea" he told him, Ling didn't move "What if one of us went with her instead? That way you would be free to continue with your search, and you'd still be able to find out what did this to her"

On the ground, Ling took a deep, shuddering breath, and slowly raised himself up on his forearms, he looked at the brothers, his deep black eyes surprisingly wet.

"You...you would do that?"

Ed moved his head in a single nod, and then looked down at the coat again, thankful for the material that covered her form. He didn't want to know what kind of wounds were making her bleed like that.

But, part of him mind he couldn't help but wonder, what kind of monster would make those wounds in the first place?

"Alright then" said the prince, raising a hand that Edward took, and using it to pull him to his feet. Ling kept hold of it, his grip tight on Ed's automail an speaking with undeniable sincerity "Thank-you, Ed"

And Ed, who could think of nothing else to say, nodded in response.

FMAB

Roy Mustang's hands were pressed up against the surface of the bed in Central hospital where he'd been put to recover from his battle with Lust. His fingers were curled into fists, and his mind was racing at the news Lieutenant Hawkeye had just brought him.

"_Sir, Central command was contacted this morning by the local morgue. According to them,...the body of Major Alex Louis Armstrong was brought in by the police. It was found by Second Lieutenant Brosh in an alley several streets from Central Command"_

The hospital room was deathly silent at Hawkeye's news. Neither he nor Havoc spoke one word, both stunned by the news of the Majors death.

Another one. Another one of his officers dead. And barely two months after Hughes murder. Mustang's knuckles neaerly broke from the strain of being squeezed so hard. _Goddammit._

"How?" Mustang murmured "He...the Strong Arm alchemist was one of the toughest state alchemists in Amestris!" he looked up at Hawkeye. When she gave him no response other than a saddened silence, he lowered his head and pressed his palm into his forehead and leaned back against his bed, he pulled his hand away and directed his attention to Hawkeye again. He asked her a hollow question.

"Was it Scar?" _it's the only possibility there is, _he thought,_ what else could take down a man like Armstrong?_

"No, Sir" said Hawkeye, the conviction in her voice surprising him.

"You sound awfully confident in that opinion, Hawkeye"

"That's because I have the autopsy records, Sir" she stated "They say the injuries on the Majors body were completely different to the style of Scar"

"How so?" Mustang asked, and the Lieutenants emotionless appearance faltered.

"Sir, I don't-"

"Answer me, Lieutenant!" Mustang demanded, and she did so immediately.

"Sir, the first thing the coroners were able to take note of was that there were multiple stab wounds in his chest, arms and forehead. The wounds were like such from a blade, or a spear, but there was no sign of any internal combustion, Colonel"

Mustang stared at Hawkeye, momentarily robbed of the ability to speak. Behind them, another voice spoke "So...what? He was stabbed to death?!"

Hawkeye didn't look away from Mustang as she answered Havoc's question, her tone a touch softer this time.

"Yes, Havoc. That's what the reports said"

Mustang didn't have to turn to see the stunned disbelief on Jean Havoc's face "Oh my God..."

"Do we have any leads on the killer?" barked Mustang.

"Not yet, Sir" said Hawkeye.

_Damn. _Mustang didn't speak for a minute, waiting for his flash of anger to abate. Then, he spoke again "Has anyone contacted the Armstrong family? Told them the news?"

"Not yet, Sir" Hawkeye repeated softly, and Mustang nodded.

"Right" now he looked up at his Lieutenant, and black eyes locked on brown "You'll need to get someone onto that, Lieutenant. The family deserve to know"

"Of course they do, Colonel. I'll get someone started on that as soon as possible" Hawkeye bowed in respect and then vacated the silent hospital room. It took a moment for him to realise that a pair of eyes was burning into his back, and it didn't take long for Havoc to speak.

"Colonel-"

"I'm going to use the bathroom" was the excuse he threw to his roommate as he stood up from the bed and grabbed his drip trolley. Havoc got the hint, and didn't say another word as the Colonel pushed the door open, and left.

FMAB

_WHACK!_

Hitting a brick wall probably wasn't a good idea for a man still in hospital, but honestly Mustang didn't give a damn. He had barely been here three months and two military men had died. Both good men. Both honourable men.

Both men...with a secret.

As Mustang looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he recalled a conversation he'd had with Major Armstrong not too long ago in this very room. The philosophers stone. The Elric brothers. Hughes involvement and his resulting death.

And now Armstrong had been murdered, and he had been in on the secret too.

_There's got to be a connection, _thought the Flame Alchemist, _the murder styles may be different, but this can't just be a coincidence. Anyone who knew Armstong knew no-one could kill him unless they truly wanted him dead. _Uncurling his injured hand, Mustang raised both to the sink and gripped the sides of the bowl, looking into the porcelain base._ Or silenced_.

_And maybe, if I can find out who murdered Armstrong, then I can find out who killed Maes. _Still gripping the bowl, he looked up at his reflection once again. His skin was pale, his eyes were coal black, and his spiked ebony hair framed his thinner face, _and my search will finally be over._

FMAB

"Hey! Loosen your grip! You're gonna squeeze me to death! _Ah!"_

As they walked through their Fathers hidden lair, Wrath, who was holding Envy side in his hand to his side, meerly tightened his grip on his brother at his cry of pain "If you don't stay silent, Envy, then squeezing you to death is exactly what I'm going to do. Now please keep it down, your voice is...irritating"

Envy glared up at Wrath, but kept his snide, high pitched comments to himself as they continued to walk down the Chimera-infested path.

"You know, Envy, I have to say I was surprised to find out that this is what you really look like" Envy groaned. Oh jeeze, here we go... "Whoever thought that your true form would be so...vulnerable?"

Wrath. Another perfect example of why he hated the insect like body. Whenever he had the misfortune to retreat back into it (which was _rare! _The last time had been, what? Two hundred years ago? Three?_) _the other homunculi saw the opportunity to mock him and grabbed it with both hands, knowing he couldn't fight back. This was the first time Wrath had seen him like this, and evidentially he was no different from their siblings. Envy growled, but resisted the urge to bite Wrath with his sharp teeth. You never knew what might make the celebrated Fuhrer of Amestris loose his temper, and Envy really didn't feel like getting squished.

So, he endured Wrath's picking comment. For now.

"Father!" Wrath called as he pushed open the doors his lair. A vast room that was covered with thick cables and had rolling cogs in the walls. In the centre of it all, where the cables grouped together from the ceiling and into the back of a metal throne. It was in that throne where the Father of the Homunculi resided, his chin resting on his fist, looking bored as usual. He looked up when he heard Wrath's call.

"Wrath" Father sounded mildly surprised "What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you"

The way he said it was dismissive, like the Fuhrer had disobeyed some order by turning up here unexpectedly. Standing before his Father, Wrath leaned his torso forward and respectfully bowed his head.

"I'm sorry Father, but truthfully I was not planning on coming down here tonight"

"Then what brings you here, my son?"

Wordlessly, Wrath lifted the fist that held Envy, and Father actually looked a little surprised when he saw the leech-like homunculus "Envy?"

"Yes" he squeaked, his big eyes blinking in Wrath's hand.

Father's golden eyes focused on him "You've lost your stone"

"...Yeah"

"Pride found him this morning, Father" his brother explained "In this form, unconscious by some old alley"

"Hm" Father said, still looking at his older son with mild interest. Then, he rose up out of his chair, the plugs that fixed into his back and the machine behind him hissing as they dislodged from his flesh. He slowly walked down the chair and onto the floor, his white robes swaying around his sandals and strands of his blonde hair shifting in the slight breeze his movements caused. When he was in front of Wrath, he held out his hand, and the Fuhrer placed Envy into the older man's palm. He looked down at his son, and his son looked up at him.

_Please give me a stone. Please give me a stone. Please don't make me stay in this body any longer and give me a stone!_

"Why don't we discuss as to how you came to be this way, son?"

_Dammit!_

FMAB

"...And then these knife flesh things burst out of his body and ripped out my stone and tore my body apart. When the creature didn't notice me fall on the ground I curled up until it ran off and tried to make my way back here. But as I got out of the alley a stupid human biker ran me over and knocked me out" Envy growled the last part. Damn humans, why the hell didn't they watch where they were going?!

"Hm" Father said musingly "And you say this..._thing, _grew bladesfrom it's own body?"

"Yeah" Envy nodded, and Father raised a hand to his chin, his eyes getting a faraway look as though deep in thought. Envy just hoped he wasn't so deep that he'd forget about his philosophers stone.

"...so, you had your stone stolen by a child?" said a seductive voice from behind him "How degrading"

Envy twisted around on Fathers table and growled at Lust. At some point during his recount, Lust and Gluttony had come back from...whatever they had been doing, and stopped alongside Wrath to listen in (well, Lust had. Gluttony just remained at her side like a loyal pet, dreamily sucking on his finger) "I did not have my stone stolen by a child, you hag! I had my stone stolen by a _monster_!"

"Evidentially" Lust smirked, no doubt mocking his appearance "You see" she sighed "This is what happens when you sneak sweets after work!"

Envy jumped "Hey! I was not sneaking anything!" he cried, thankful that this skin couldn't blush.

"Oh please, you are such an addict for those ice-cream things. Keep eating them and we'll have two Gluttony's on our hands"

Envy burned with rage. How dare that old hag compare him to that fatass?! "You wouldn't say that if I had a philosophers stone!"

"If I recall correctly, I said it to you last week" Lust drawled.

Wrath rolled his uncovered eye "It's a miracle you two get anything done around here, when you stand around bickering like children!"

Envy scoffed "Well excuse me, baby brother, but I don't think anyone was talking to _you_-!"

"Enough" Father's command was calm, but nonetheless it had silenced the bickering siblings "You are Homunculi, the next step in the evolution of humanity, not squabbling children. Act like it"

Wrath, Lust and Envy glanced at each other, and then bowed their heads, muttering a simultaneous "Yes Father. Forgive us"

"You are forgiven" responded Father, and he looked down at Envy "Now, why don't we get you back to your proper body?"

_Oh yes, PLEASE! _Envy watched eagerly as the purple eye in Father's forehead opened up and began to weep a philosophers stone. The glorious substance dripped down his face, past his nose and all the way down to his chin where it then dripped into his hand. Holding the hand out to Envy, the small homunculus eagerly fell into his palm and devoured the liquid-like substance.

_So, a creature that can use it's own flesh as a weapon and tear out the philosophers stone of a homunculus? _He thought as Envy leaned back off his hand, and red sparks started to shoot from his small body.

_How interesting..._

_**Chapter two, she is done. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the prologue, I liked hearing what you had to sau. Please tell me what you thought of this one, my lovelies, and the next one will be up on the 26th! (It gets more entertaining, I promise)**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood does not belong to me. All characters and references to the show belong to FUNimation.**_

The Beast Within

Chapter 2

Izumi Curtis walked back to her meat store with three legs of lamb in her arms, cursing the imbeciles who had sold her the previous meat that was well past it's sell by date, _forcing_ her to go to another supplier across town to fill in that 5pm order!

Those idiots...when she got a second to breathe something that wasn't meat she was going to _kill them!_

But first, business, and so Izumi waited at a street light for the signal to turn green with the meat, wrapped in thick brown paper to keep the legs from oozing blood onto her arms.

However, as she stared at the still-green light, waiting for it to change, the housewife began to feel a...disturbing sensation. A shiver ran up Izumi's spine, and it made the hair on the nape of her neck stand on end. Her dark eyes hardened, and she twisted her head to a space across the street.

She was being watched. She could feel it.

But alas, when she looked across that concrete street, she saw nothing except stores, small homes and pedestrians. None of whom happened to be looking her way.

So why was that chill still running down her back?

"Hey! Lady!" someone snapped loudly in her ear. How impolite.

"What?!" Izumi rounded on the one who had spoken to her so rudely, and the scrawny man jumped back like he had been physically bitten by her tone. Timidly, he pointed across the road.

"Uh...you've gotta cross now, Ma'am" he squeaked, and when she looked up at the light, she saw that the little green bulb was indeed flashing.

But before she crossed, Izumi once more looked across the street, suspicion wedged deep in her stomach, before she put the incident to the back of her mind, hefted the lambs legs in her arms, and crossed the road.

FMAB

The first thing Winry Rockbell did when she woke up in her hotel room in Central was check the time. Rolling over in her bed, she turned her bleary eyes to the metal alarm clock on her bedside table, and her eyes widened when she saw where the little black were pointing. It was almost eleven in the morning!

HER TRAIN TO RUSH VALLEY! SHE HAD MISSED IT!

_Why didn't anyone wake me?! _She thought angrily, feeling her wrench-hand quivering as she pulled herself out of bed and strode to the Elric brothers room, not bothering to knock before she slammed the door open and charged inside.

"Edward! Alphonse! Why the hell didn't you-?"

Her words cut off instantly when she saw the lounge, replaced by a soft gasp, and a hand lifting itself to cover her mouth.

The hotel room window had been completely smashed in, a huge hole was gaping from the glass like someone had been thrown through it's surface. A soft breeze filtered through the breakage and swirled around the young woman, lifting her hair and giving her another reason to shiver. She took a trembling step forward into the room, and hissed when she felt something cut into her right toe. She looked down and saw that she had brushed against a piece of glass, and that there was now blood welling from a shallow cut in her toe. Ignoring this, Winry continued to look around the room, and saw more glass covering the scene. Shards of the breakage littered the coffee table, sofa's and carpet of the room, clearly from the broken window.

So, something had smashed their way _in, _not out... Winry exhaled with relief. That was good. At least it meant someone hadn't been thrown from the room in a rage.

But Winry's large blue eyes didn't miss what else was on the carpet besides the glass. Soaked in at the base of the window were stains of red, stains that the Rockbell girl knew were blood, and they looked too fresh to be the remnants of a previous tenant.

_Was...was someone _attacked _in here?! _Her mind started to race, and immediately started to call out for her friends "Ed! Al! Are you in here?!"

There was no response, and she ran to the bathroom, poking her head in on some deluded hope that they mght be in there.

"Edward?" she called helplessly, but alas, the bathroom was empty too.

She whimpered, hurrying back into the bedroom to run down to the hotel restaurant in the mad hope they might be there, telling herself that they were O.k, that there was a perfectly logical explanation for the blood and glass, and when she next saw those idiots they would be unharmed and she could hit them over the heads with her wrench for worrying her.

_Dammit, where _are _they?! _

FMAB

Al couldn't get the image of Lan Fan's covered body out of his head. He still couldn't believe that someone who had been that unstoppable could be wiped out of existence like that. And Ling...when his and Ed's mother died, even Edward hadn't felt rage or grief like they had seen on the Prince that morning.

They'd stayed with him when the officials came to pick up the body. Ling had quickly made himself scarce before they'd arrived, jumping off to...God knew where. Before he'd left he'd thanked the Elric brothers for their help, and Al was sure he had never heard another voice that had sounded so hallow before. And his eyes, it was like a fire that had been blown out...

Ed had kept his promise and gone with the boy, and after that Ling appeared to have vanished again so Al had decided to go back to their hotel, remembering that they'd left Winry without a word. When he arrived there she was waiting for them in the lobby, and boy was she happy.

"Where the hell have you _been?!" _she cried in fury, and before Alphonse could utter a single word she hit him across the metal chest with her magically appearing wrench.

"Hey!" Al backed up automatically, despite the fact he couldn't feel any pain, but Winry just stepped forward and hit him again.

"I WOKE UP THIS MORNING YOU GUYS WERE _GONE!" _Winry shrieked, her wrench hovering threateningly above his head "YOUR ROOM LOOKED LIKE A DAMN WAR ZONE, YOU IDIOT! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN?!"

She went to hit him again, but with surprising speed Al caught the wrench in his leather left hand, stopping it's abusive course "Stop hitting me with that thing, Winry! You're gonna give me more dents!"

Trying to pull the tool out of his grasp, Winry glared visciously at him ""You're room was covered in glass and blood! I thought something had happened to you!" she excalimed and Al inwardly cringed, remembering the war-zone state of their hotel room. Yeah...that might give someone cause to worry...

"Well, I'm sorry!" he blurted out "But-"

"What happened, Al? Tell me!" Winry demanded, and Al's grip tightened on her wrench. He'd been hoping to avoid this, he really didn't want to get into...that. He hung his head, wondering what to tell her.

"Listen, something's happened with Ling and...and he asked for our help with it" wow. That was lame. He didn't blame Winry for looking like she wanted to melt him into a new automail appendage.

"Al...!" she said, her voice low with warning, and he inwardly groaned. Looks like he would _have _to tell her.

"Well..." he said after several seconds "It's kind of a long story-"

"Alphonse Elric"

"Huh?" both Al and Winry turned around and saw a plump man walking through the hotel door towards them. He had partially shaven red hair, a tight expression, and a military uniform.

"Lieutenant Breda?" said Al, letting go of Winry's wrench. It was rare he saw the lieutenant outside of Mustang's team, especially to look for him "What are you doing here?"

"Delivering a message" said Breda, coming up in front of Al and looking around him "Where's the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Oh, he was looking for Ed. That made more sense. "He's not here right now. What's this about, Lieutenant?" he asked before he could be questioned any further.

"Mustang sent me" said Breda, more serious than Al had ever seen him "There's something you and the Fullmetal Alchemist need to know, do you know when Ed will be back?"

Not knowing how long the identification of a body took, Al shook his head, and Breda's jaw clenched.

"Then I'll just have to tell you now" he stood up straighter, and this time addressed both Al and Winry as he spoke his news.

"The reason Mustang sent me was because he wanted a familiar face to deliver the news...Major Alex Louis Armstrong is dead. By murder"

FMAB

Back in Central hospital, Mustang was reclining uselessly in his bed. Armstrong's autopsy report in his hand, something most of the commanding officers had been given to try and draw a deduction of the culprit. Mustang was still reading through it when the hospital door suddenly burst open. A young man with red hair and a military uniform stood in the doorway, holding a brown envelope in his hand.

"Colonel Mustang, sir? There's been a-"

"Geeze, kid! Couldn't you be a bit more quiet?!" snapped a recently slumbering and now irritated Jean Havoc "You could've woken a coma patient with that door!"

The man flushed and began stammering out apologies. Mustang rolled his eyes "Hey!"

"I didn't mean-Sir?" impossibly, the man turned an even deeper shade of red when he saw Mustangs look of petulance.

"Did you come here for a reason, Officer?" he asked, lowering the report in his hand. The man rapidly nodded, holding up the envelope in his hand.

"Yes, Colonel Mustang, Sir!" said the man "A message for you from the Central coroner, Sir. There's been a development in the Armstrong case!"

All of a sudden, both occupants, Havoc and Mustang, were looking at the man with so much of their full attention it was almost unnerving. Havoc turned to his superior, but he never took his eyes off the messangers brown evelope.

"But I thought Armstrong's autopsy had been carried out already?" he said, and the messenger shook his head.

"This is about another body, Sir. It was brought in a while ago by the MP's, and it has the same wounds as the Major!" he held out the brown envelope to him "This is the autopsy report from the body. We thought you should see it"

Leaning forward, Mustang took the file and looked at it. When he saw the head-shot on the cover, he blinked in surprise.

"A girl?" he mumbled to himself, taking in the dark hair and thin frame, along with the wounds that marred her forehead. Aware that Havoc and the messenger were still watching him avidly, Mustang opened the file and began to read.

_Says here her name is Lan Fan...15 years old...Xingease...severe muscle drainage...died of multiple lacerations and blood loss..._

_It's just like Armstrong...but the physical victimology is so different...maybe if we knew more about her, we'd know who this phscyo would target next..._

"Officer" the messenger immediately stood to attention at the address "Do you know who identified this body?"

Fortunatley the messenger nodded "Yes sir. It was the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric"

Mustang frowned as they walked through the door "Boy?"

The messenger nodded "Yes sir. In fact, he said he was the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric"

_"What?!" _Havoc gasped "You're saying _he _was the one who found her?!"

The messenger looked flustered, but nodded. Mustang, meanwhile, didn't say anything, remembering Tucker incident a few months ago and the crippling effect it had had on Fullmetal. He allowed himself to feel a pang of sympathy for the boy, but forced himself to push it aside. He turned to the messenger.

"Officer, I need you to get Fullmetal on the phone and tell him to come here. Immediately"

FMAB

Deep below Central, Father watched Envy stride about his home, joyfully stretching out the pale limbs of his fresh body until they cracked. He was still wondering about the mysterious creature that torn his son limb from limb. This was an entity he'd never encountered before, and he wanted to know more about it. So he asked.

"So, Envy, what more can you tell me about this..._creature, _you faced?"

"Hm?" Envy inclined his head towards a now seated Father. Lowering his outstretched arms, he shrugged "Well, there's not really much more to tell. It's small, annoyingly good at combat, and went after my philosophers stone the first chance it got" he chuckled "Actually reminds me of a certain Pipsqueak..."

_Pity..._disappointment stirred within Father's body. He would very much have liked to have found out more about this fascinating creature, a being that could destroy a homunculus with next to no difficulty.

From his siblings side, Wrath stepped forward "Well, now that this issue has been resolved, I really must be getting back. Another State Alchemist has been killed in Central"

At that statement, several heads snapped towards him "Was it the Ishvalan again?" it was Lust who asked the question, and Wrath paused in front of the exit.

"Actually, no" he answered "Due to the sadistic nature of the kill, we believe this to be a different murderer"

At the mention of sadism, everyone-except for Wrath-looked accusingly at Envy, who raised his new hands in defence "Hey! Don't look at me!"

"In any case" continued Wrath "I really mustn't dally. So I'll take my leave now"

No-one gave a response and soon Wrath was gone from the chamber. Envy cracked his regained neck to the side, groaning in satisfaction.

"Well, this has been fun, but I also have responsibilities I need to get back to" he lifted his arm in a jaunty wave and started towards the exit, concentrating on the young, sandy-haired soldier form he usually took when in Central. His shape-shifting was a glorious thing, an ability that came so naturally to him that sometimes he didn't even feel it, just the barest ripple of his skin as he took on the shape of some other being.

So it was a surprise to him when, as he reached out to open the door, he saw his own pale, gloved hand in front of him,instead of the strong tan one of his Central alter ego.

He stopped, and stared. _What the hell? He hadn't changed?!_

From behind him, he heard Lust ask him in her bored drawl if something was wrong. He ignored her, too occupied with his own situation. He tried to shape shift again, this time concentrating fiercely on changing his form, his body taut and his fingers clenched.

But nothing happened. The red sparks did not appear, he did not feel the gentle ripple of a new shape, and his body did. Not. Fucking. Change!

WHAT THE HELL?! WHY WASN'T HE CHANGING?!

His fingers uncurled from his trembling palms, and he stared down at the pale, smooth skin. A terrible premonition entered his mind, and he screamed out "What the hell is going on here?!"

"What's wrong with you?" Lust's voice carried over to him yet again, and this time the smaller homunculus turned around to face her. When she saw the look on his face, a mixture of horror and anger, her bored look grew into one of curiosity.

Envy looked down at his hands again, unable to believe the reality of his situation, and humiliated at the trembling words that forced their way from his lips.

"Something's wrong with my power" he said, his voice hushed like he was confessing a deadly sin "I...I can't transform!"

FMAB

Night had now fallen in Dublith, and while her husband finished up some rush orders in the shop Izumi Curtis donned a nightgown and prepared herself for bed. After brushing her teeth and pulling her woven hair of multiple braids out of it's ponytail, she picked up a book and slid between the sheets, reading by lamp-light while she waited for Sig.

Her husband was a long time, longer than usual, and Izumi was a full ten pages into her book by the time Sig's vast silhouette filled the doorway. Feeling his presence more than seeing it, she lowered her book and greeted him with a smile.

"Hey, you were a long time. Everything O.k?"

Sig didn't answer. He just kept on standing there, his face expressionless, his body unmoving, he didn't make a move to enter the bedroom, and he didn't speak.

Unease stirred within the housewife. Something wasn't right.

She closed her book, not taking her eyes off her husband "...Honey?"

Sig gave no response.

Then, after a long, silent minute, one of his thick hands lifted upwards and pressed against the door, pushing it closed, and Izumi wastched as Sig came towards her, moving like a hunter stalking his prey, and his face expressionless.

"Sig?" Izumi whispered softly. The twisting feeling within her stomach was back, this time coming in tenfold, and it only increased when her husbands fingers touched the lamp, and right before he switched off the light, she saw a huge, malicious grin break out across his face.

With the night being at it's blackest and the door being closed, the bedroom was plunged into such darkness that Izumi couldn't see a thing. She gasped when the light went out, more out of surprise than anything else. What was this? What was Sig playing at?!

"Sig, what are you doing?" she demanded, bracing her hands on the bed "This isn't funny. Stop this now!"

There was another moment of silence, then, seemingly from the end of the bed, she heard her husband's low chuckle.

"Oh really, girlie?" she heard him say "Because I think this is _hilarious!"_

That was the last thing Izumi heard him say before the large hand closed around her throat.

_**Yes, it's a cliffhanger. Yes, I am terrible. Yes, I am hoping you review, and yes, I still have my hosepipe for you flamers. Please review, and the next chapter will be up on the 2nd November. **_


	4. Chapter 3

_**Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood does not belong to me! All characters and references to the show belong to FUNimation.**_

The Beast Within

Chapter 3

Sig's hand tightened around Izumi's neck, cutting off her air supply and making her gasp. On instinct she brought up her hands and clawed at his wrist, digging her nails into his skin so hard she was sure she drew blood, but that seemed to have no effect on him, and when he only tightened his grip on her she changed tack, kicking her legs out from the sheet's and plowing her feet into Sig's chest over and over again with all her strength, but this proved equally useless as he just lifted her up until her feet were dangling an inch above the mattress and threw her across the room. She crashed into the wall, her back slamming against the floor and knocking any remaining wind out of her. She heard his feet approach, and then his hand as he again tried to choke her.

_Why...why is he doing this to me? _"...Sig..." she choked, her hands gripping his wrist again "...Why?..."

He didn't answer her, not at first. But, right before she slipped into unconsciousness, she heard his gruff voice mutter irritably.

"Damn, I'm over doing it"

The pressure on her neck disappeared and she coughed heavily on the ground, clutching her throat and sucking in air, her throat screaming from where Sig had crushed it.

He was trying to kill her, she quickly realised, the man she loved had just tried to kill her, and was about to do so again. But before she could do anything Sig's huge hand grabbed her nightgown and she was slammed into the wall yet again. She cried out in pain, dimly aware of Sig's breath crossing her face.

"Well? Aren't you even going to try to fight back, Alchemist? Are you really that pathetic as to just _let _me kill you?" he sniggered, and a spark of anger flowed through the alchemist, clearing her head and allowing her a second of ludicity.

Like a knife slicing through the air, Izumi brought her right leg up in a powerful front-kick and caught Sig right between the legs. Her husband yelped and cursed, and suddenly Izumi was falling to the ground where she quickly pushed herself through the gap between his legs, rose to her feet, and brought out her arms to slam him against the wall-

Only to be met, with an actual wall instead of Sigs beefy frame.

He had moved. In the space of a second he had gotten away.

_Dammit!_

"Are you trying to get away?" Sig's cold laugh from behind froze her heart "That's adorable, girlie. But I don't think that wall is gonna give you much of a way out!" he laughed again, and Izumi raised her hands and stood in a fighting stance, ignoring the fact that her hands were shaking with what she was about to do.

"Sig...what the hell is this?" she demanded, her voice raspy from the strangling "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Sig Curtis' loud, raucous laughter filled the bedroom, and somewhere in the centre of the room, Izumi heard her husbands voice.

"Oh, I _love _this power!"

The alchemist frowned, but didn't have much time to consder his words as the room was suddenly filled with a swarm of red light, illuminating everything and enabling Izumi to see her husband for the first time. Or, at least, what she had _thought _was her husband.

As she watched in a mixture of wonder and horror, the red sparks engulfed Sig, illuminating his outstretched arms and raised face, the eyes of which were clenched shut as they faced the ceiling. As the sparks skittered and danced around him, Sig's form shrank and thinned before her. His broad, tanned arms and legs became four thin twigs of white skin and bone, wrapped in grey shorts and a white shirt. His large head became smaller and pinched and smooth, and his short brown hair darkened and lengthened until it turned into a thick mane of black hair that touched the backs of his knee's.

The creature shrank until it was a little over four feet tall, and on it's face a viscous grin could be seen while the red sparks still surrounded it's skinny frame. It was filled with sharp, pearly white teeth.

"So?" said the shape shifting creature cockily. It's voice was high, like that of a child, and it's gender unidentifiable "What do you-OW!"

A huge concrete fist exploded from the ground and punched the monster so hard it slammed into the next wall, the impact making several chunks of plaster fall from the foundation and crunch on the ground surrounding it. Admist the destruction, there was a pained groan.

From the floor, Izumi used her hands position on the floor to push herself into a standing position. Anger coursed through the housewife's viens, such a rage burning in her that she could practically feel her eyes turn red with wrath. The anger gave her new strength, and she stood to full height and glard at where the monster had fallen like she was trying to burn the surrounding area with her gaze.

"You dare to impersonate my husband?" she snarled, and she pressed a fist into her hand and cracked her knuckles "You dare to take his form and claim it as your own? Just what the hell do you think you are, Beast?!"

The sound of groaning wood and concrete was the only warning Izumi got before the fist she transmuted exploded into rock. She ducked to avoid the debris and hissed when her bruised back protested. She heard a high pitched giggle, and the patter of small footsteps.

_What the hell? _Izumi cursed, scowling in the direction of the creature, _that thing's barely four feet tall and thin as a twig. There's no way it could've broken through that!_

"What the hell are you?!" she spat. The light had vanished as soon as the creature had finished changing, but the alchemist could tell from the direction it's voice came from that it was still against the wall from where her unexpected attack had thrown it

"What does it matter, girlie? You're going to be dead soon, anyway!"

Izumi smirked "Oh yeah?" she chuckled "Good luck with that-DAMN!"

She cried out when a sudden blade sliced into her right arm, tearing through the fat and muscle an dragging her over to the wall until she was pinned against it. Pain screamed through her arm, but her fury was not far behind it. She reached for the blade, feeling it's unusually long length and thickness. It was the size of a thin tree trunk, and went on farther than her hand could reach...

She heard the monster speak again "You stupid bitches, all thinking you can run from me" it chuckled lowly "To bad I'm so much _stronger now!"_

There was an explosion of bricks as something heavy slammed next to her and blew up the wall. She felt something hit her forehead, and blood trickle into her eye.

The housewife growled in anger. This had gone on for long enough.

With a roar of pure rage, she gripped the blade in her arm tight and ripped it from her skin. Blood gushed from her wound, but she honestly didn't give a crap.

"You think _you're _strong, you little bastard?" she panted, clapping her hands together and starting to bend at the knee's "Let me tell you now, you are _nothing_ compared to me!"

"I sincerely _doubt that!_" there was a rush of wind, and Izumi ducked just in time before a whole lot of _somethings _crashed into the wall behind her. She slammed her hands on the ground, blue light flashing and a block of wall from the creature's side slamming into it's small body and pressing it into the ground. She heard it grunt, and grinned in triumph before she heard another explosion of solids and was soon rolling on the ground to avoid the weapons that were sent her way.

On the floor beneath the window, Izumi panted heavily, her mind riddled with frustration and confusion.

_How...how is a child so thin and small able to be strong enough to break through my attacks? And where is it getting all these weap-CRAP!_

"You can't hide from me!" the creature taunted as she rolled out of the way to avoid more of the heavy weapons. There was another crash, and she had a feeling that her wall now had a few new holes inside "I'm not letting you go until I get what I want, bitch!" another blade shot her way, so fast she barely had time to duck before it hit the wall again. On her cheek, she felt the sting where she had been sliced. Had she moved a second later she might have been impaled in the head.

_That was close...way too damn close..._

"And I _always _get what I want!" the creature shrieked, and another weapon crashed over the housewife's head.

Izumi rolled again, rising with one knee to the ground and splaying her hands out for balance "Well, aren't you just like a spoiled child?" she said, anger biting her words. She rose up off her knee's, her hands twitching at her sides "And if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a _spoiled little brat!"_

She stepped forward towards the creature and clapped her hands like she was going to perform alchemy. The creature took the bait, and Izumi ducked as another spike flew from it's chest and shattered the window behind her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW! DAMMIT!" the creature spat and hissed as it withdrew it's weapon, but Izumi didn't bother to register the blood dripping from the wounds caused by the broken glass before she spun around and leapt for the window, thanking God that the hole the monster created was big enough for her to sail through and only gave her a few shallow scratches in the process. She hissed when her back slammed against the ground, but quickly shook it off and started running, going for the light of the streets.

"DO YOU REALLY THINK ITS THAT EASY TO ESCAPE FROM ME, BITCH?!"

She heard a rushing behind her and looked around just in time to see a thick, fleshy spike rushing towards her, stretching from her bedroom and aiming for her waist. Izumi gritted her teeth, clapping her hands and pressing them down on the ground to make a thick concrete barrier appear just in time. The spike crashed against the barrier, but Izumi didn't wait around to see if that had held it off, she just kept running, sprinting around the curve of her house and looking for a phone or a weapon or-

_No!_

"Dammit!" she cursed as she tripped on something big and fell to the ground. She scrambled up. What the hell was that? A fallen trash can? She looked down, and the world of Izumi Curtis stopped.

It's funny, how shock can effect a person, just take you over with a single glance at the wrong thing. Izumi knew that she should be running for her life right now, to stop herself from getting killed by the thing that had invaded her home, but the instant she looked down at what tripped her, her life suddenly didn't seem to matter anymore. In fact she was having some trouble remembering why she was even running in the first place.

The body she had tripped over was recently dead, she could tell that by still-pink colour in his cheeks. The arms and legs of it looked like they had been shot, the thick wounds completely circular and oozing blood onto a dark green shirt and a dark pair of pants. On his forehead was another wound. A smallish hole, like another bullet, in the dead centre of his head, right above a set of wide, terrified dark eyes.

There was barely any light around her, but Izumi had no trouble recognising the body, and in a shaking breath she whispered his name.

"...Sig?"

FMAB

Envy concentrated so hard he thought his head would explode. His feet were braced apart on Father's cabled floor, his hands were clenched into fists at the sides of his head, and his eyes were squeezed closed. After several agonising minutes, he opened them and looked down at his body.

He threw back his head and let out roar that was half scream and half groan of pure frustration. He'd been at it for God knew how long, and nothing was happening!

His power...it was gone.

"HOW?!" he wailed, pressing his palms to his face and dragging them violently over his skin "How can this happen?! It's _impossible!" _he cried, his wails and shouts of indignation becoming incomprehensible.

Down by Father's pedestal, Lust turned to Father while Gluttony continued to watch Envy have his breakdown, a look of mild interest on his dumb face.

But he wasn't the only one staring.

"Father" the original homunculus hummed questioningly at Lust's request, but didn't take his eyes off his son (who had started screaming into his hands, which were full of stands of dark hair)

Lust gestured to her brother "Can you explain this?" she too turned around to look at him, blinking in surprise when she saw that Envy was now frozen in a position where he was fisting his hands into his hair and silently screaming at the floor. Interesting...

"I believe I can, Lust" said Father, an he rose from his chair and addressed the (to put it mildly) troubled homunculus directly "Envy, will you stop...that, and come here a moment?"

Envy's clenched eyes opened and his mouth closed. He looked over at Father, as if taking a moment to register that he was actually there. Then he straightened out of his crouched position and went to the bottom of Father's platform where he stood silently, like he was trying to retain some of his dignity.

Father's face betrayed no emotion as he stood before the homunculus. His pale, lined features were as expressionless as ever. He was a robed pillar of calm silence. A silence he broke.

"This may hurt, my son, but please believe it is in your best interests"

Envy frowned, not understanding "What're-_Gurk!"_

Lust's gasped when Father suddenly thrust his wrinkled hand straight into his chest. A flash of excruciating pain seared through the green-haired sin and he cried out and, on instinct, jerked back, but Father simply followed his movements and kept his hand inside Envy's chest.

"Just hold still, Envy. This won't take a moment" he said almost soothingly, and Envy gasped when ancient fingers began to move within his chest. They worked through his shell and shifted past the blood vessels and the fat and muscle and bone, searching within his body until they brushed against the most essential part of his being.

"Ah!" he let out a small cry when Father's hand gently closed around his philosophers stone, and for one mad second he thought he was going to tear it out. But all the golden-haired man did was allow his hand to linger there for a while, his forehead wrinkled with concentration, until all at once his forehead smoothed, and the faintest flicker of surprise entered his golden eyes.

"How interesting..." he muttered, and without so much as a warning he pulled his hand from his son's chest, making the sin gasp and clutch at it despite the red sparks that were already flashing and healing the wound.

_Well, at least my healing powers are still with me. _He thought begrudgingly.

Father, meanwhile, began walking back up to his cabled chair, offering no explanation for his actions and seemingly lost in thought as he raised a hand to his chin and began to mutter;

"Fascinating...how could it be done?...it should be impossible...some kind of new alchemy?...perhaps some form of alchemical extraction..."

Envy stared at him incredulously, a gloved hand still on his chest. _Are you KIDDING ME?! You just put your hand in my Goddamn chest and now you're RAMBLING?!_

"...But there is no form of alchemy that could do this...perhaps this is something new?"

Envy spun towards Lust, jerking out and arm towards the old homunculus and looking at her with a 'Help me out here!' expression. Obligingly, Lust turned and raised her voice to him "Father!"

Admist his ramblings he paused, and looked down at his daughter as though expecting her to explain why she had interrupted him. She wordlessly pointed one elegant finger to Envy, who was practically twitching with impatience. He mercifully seemed to get her message.

Father lowered himself into his chair and the mechanisms hissed as his skin plugged into the back of it. He placed his hands on the armrests, and leaned back into it. A shadow obscured the top half of his face, and made his eyes glow the bright crimson of a homunculus.

"Listen well, my children" he commanded them, and Lust and Gluttony joined Envy at the foot of Father's platform, watching him like a captive audience as he spoke to them "This is an important day in the history of our kind"

"When I discovered that Envy had lost his abilities, I had at first thought that a problem with Envy's philosopher stone was what was preventing him from using his gift. An error in the mechanism, or a fault in the flow of energy, something that was blocking his power. However, this was not the case" he now focused on Envy, his red eyes burning towards him in the darkness. To used to this, Envy stared back.

"You see, my son, it is not the stone that is causing the fault in your abilities. It is your body"

Envy forced himeslf not to react, but his mind was swirling with confusion. _My body? How the hell can my body have anything to do with this? It's just a VESSEL! _ He suppressed the urge to look down at his form, thought judging by the burning sensation crawling along his skin Lust and Gluttony were doing no such thing.

The sin didn't get how his body could be causing this _now. _This form had been his for almost three centuries by this point and he'd never had a problem with it before-He hadn't even thought he could _have _this type of problem before!-so why _now?! _

Dammit! He hated being surprised! Being caught this off-guard was something for the humans to be humiliated by! Not him!

Rage flashed through him at the thought, but Father was already talking again so he forced himself to squash it down and listen.

"It is my belief that something must have occurred when Envy's previous body was torn apart. A type of malfunction, perhaps"

_MALFUNCTION?! _Oh, look at that, the rage was back. It was a struggle not to just launch himself at Father and...well...let's be honest, meet an untimely death. Howcouldhisbodymalfunction?!

"So what does that mean?" said Lust's smooth voice, but Father continued to look at his son even as he answered.

"It means that Envy's ability is gone" he said, his voice irritatingly calm and smooth "The reason he cannot shape-shift, is because it is no longer within him to do so"

Never before had Father's chamber been so quiet. Of course, the clanking and groaning of the cogs in the walls were still as loud as ever, an the gentle screeches of the Gatekeepers could be heard a mile away, but to Envy, everything was silent.

_Gone...it's gone..._

To say it was a shock to his system would be an understatement. The sin was...stunned. Baffled. Flabbergasted. His power. His ability. His gift. His Ultimate Mask. It was gone, lost, not coming back. Without it, he was practically useless. He wouldn't be able to infiltrate the Military anymore, nor would he be able to worm information out of hapless idiots who thought he was one of their loved ones.

_And all because my body was torn apart. _He thought briefly. Then he thought it again, and again, and suddenly a fire like he had never felt before filled his frame and screamed through his non-existent soul.

_Torn apart, by that freakish little BRAT!_

Envy was aware that all eyes were on him. All waiting for him to react, to say something. Little did they know of the anger and violence he was supressing. The tangible urge to destroy whatever was within arms reach, the tempting inclination to find some random human and peel off their skin one layer at a time just so he could vent out his fury.

Or, maybe a monster...

_I'll find that little bastard, _he vowed as a vein beat in his forehead _and when I do, I'm going to tear HIM apart, limb by Goddamn limb!_

FMAB

Mustang wasn't sure the hospital staff would appreciate a new hole in their wall, but he doubted that Fullmetal really cared about that. His metal left hand retracted from the wall, still clenched into a fist, and his head still hung so that his loose hair obscured his face. From beneath the canopy of gold, his slow voice spoke.

"Major Armstrong...is _dead?"_

"Yes. He was found this morning by Brosh" Mustang told the alchemist, his tone low, clearly telling the boy to calm down (which was about as effective as telling the wall to do a backflip) although...even he had to admit, springing this on him just after he'd dropped off a body probably wasn't the best idea.

But there was no denying that Fullmetal was a state alchemist, and like it or not he was going to have to get used to this kind of stuff eventually, and so, he continued despite the daggers being fired into his face "We don't know what killed him, but...the wounds were identical to those of the Xingease girl you found" Fullmetal finally looked up, the shock on his face clearly wondering how in the hell the Colonel knew that, but he had no time to delve into anything other than a one-sentence explanation "I found out this morning, and I'm sorry, Fullmetal, but I need to know what information you have on her"

"Why?" Fullmetal snapped, but Mustang didn't even flinch at his tone.

"Why do you think? Because it might help us catch the killer if we know their victimology" he said as if it should be obvious. He heard Havoc address him warily, but the injured Colonel ignored him, continuing to concentrate on the Alchemist "Now, if you please..."

The young Alchemist looked like he wanted nothing more than to punch his superior in the face, and for a nano-second Mustang was glad for his high rank that prevented the boy from doing so. For a second, Fullmetal looked to be in the middle of controlling himself. He then took a deep breath, and his gloved fists loosened.

"To be honest, we didn't meet that long ago and I don't really know that much about her personally, but I do know that she was a bodyguard for a prince of Xing, and she was practically unbeatable in combat" he said, the words coming out in a hiss, like Fullmetal was forcing them from his teeth.

Mustang frowned "Is that all?"

Fullmetal tensed "Yes. That's all I know!" he nearly snarled, lightning practically crackling off his head. Mustang was silent for a moment, and then nodded at his subordinate in a gesture that could've been mistaken for respect.

"Thank-you, Fullmetal. You can go now" he said. Perhaps his tone had been a little colder than he would have liked, because at his statement the small alchemist's nose wrinkled in something akin to disgust.

"Gladly!" he spat, and stormed out of the hospital room, making sure to slam the door on his way out.

An uncomfortable silence followed after that. Awkwardly, Havoc sucked in a high whistle "Well, that, uh, could've gone better"

"Yeah, you're telling me" Mustang agree, looking at the door the boy had slammed out of. Fullmetal never was one to hold back..."But I can understand his reaction. Armstrong was a good man to those boys"

"I know" Havoc nodded in agreement. But it was what he said next that made Mustang turn to face him "So, what Ed told you, did you gain any insights?"

A contemplative look crossed the Colonel's face, but he nodded "I think so"

"You think?"

"Yeah, and as much as I hate to admit it, I think we can rule out the homunculi in this. The victimology is just too different"

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that" Havoc nodded thoughtfully, leaning back in his bed "But you know what that means, right?" he asked, and begrudgingly, the Colonel nodded too. Oh yes, he knew exactly what this meant, and he was far from happy about it.

Armstrong was nearly unbeatable...the girl was a bodyguard from Xing, and almost unstoppable according to Fullmetal...

"It means we have another serial killer on the loose. And clearly, it can kill the unkillable"

FMAB

As the sky in Central started to darken, Ed made his way down the street, a dark aura hanging about the Fullmetal Alchemist. His golden eyes bore into the concrete below him as he thought about how _fun _today had been.

First, there had been the death of Lan Fan. Having to follow her poor broken body to the coroner for Ling and finding out that they only had next to no clue as to what killed her, except for figuring out that she may have been stabbed to death by a weapon of some kind. Gee, thanks, morons!

Second, when he had gone back to the hotel a couple of hours later, he'd found out that Mustang had summoned him to his bedside, and he'd incidentally discovered that Major Armstrong was dead.

Super.

After he'd slammed out of the hospital room he'd made his way straight back to the hotel. He saw the sky was tinted with a dark blue and wondered what time it was. Was it really that late?

Whatever. He made it to the hotel and immediately went to his room, where two people were waiting for him.

Alphonse, and Winry.

The second Edward walked into the brightly lit cavern that was their room, he felt the horrible aura's of dispair oozing from the two people he loved the most. Al was sitting on the couch on the left, his head bent and his body unmoving. A mere twitch of his armour was the only inclination he gave that he'd heard Ed enter at all. Other than that, he was still.

Winry, on the other hand, looked straight at him when he entered. Like Al, she too was seated with her head bent towards her lap, but instead of sitting next to her armoured friend, she sat on the couch on the right. When Ed first entered, her bangs had been falling in front of her face and into her lap, the ends tickling the fists there. With a small intake of breath, she'd looked up, and Ed saw, like a hammer hitting his heart, that her eyes were shining.

_Damn, she's crying again..._

"So...I guess you guys heard about Armstrong, huh?" he guessed, walking inside and closing the door behind him. When they both tensed, Ed knew he'd guessed right.

"Yeah" was Al's blunt reply "Lieutenant Breda told us this morning"

Ed's eyes were torn away from his brother when he heard Winry sniffle. He looked over at her and saw to his further dismay that her knuckles were now pressed against her eyes, and her jaw was trembling. Ed let out a weary sigh, and went over and sat next to her "Winry, please don't do that"

Winry sniffed heavily "I...I'm sorry" she choked out "I-it's just M-Major Armstrong w-was so nice and now..." a small, hiccupping sob broke through her lips, and when she adjusted her hand across her face Ed saw the moisture there "I-it's just s-so terrible!"

Her hands uncurled and pressed against her face as she began to weep wholeheartedly. Ed watched her uncomfortably for a while, unsure what to do. He looked at Al, who just looked back at him unhelpfully. In a bid to try and give her any sort of comfort, Ed reached around her shoulders with his automail arm, and pulled her gently into his side. Her arm was pressed into his side, and her head was leaning against his shoulder.

"Please don't cry"

The words and gesture were simple, but they served their purpose. At first, Winry stiffened at the contact, but after a second she relaxed into him, and gradually her great sobs became small hiccups, and then quiet sniffles. Then she leaned her head on Ed's shoulder, and let out a shuddering sigh.

_Good..._thought a relieved Ed, _I finally got her to stop._

"...Al told me about that girl, Lan Fan" Winry said, her voice husky with tears, and suddenly it was Ed's turn to stiffen "Al told me" she confessed before he could ask her. Ed glared at Al, who shrugged as if to say, _what was the point in hiding it? She was gonna find out eventually!_

"He told me you went with her" Winry continued, and when she shifted her head to look at him, Ed looked down to meet her eyes. Her face was still tear streaked, but thank God there were no fresh tears in her eyes "That...I think that was really brave. I don't know if I could've done it..."

Surprisingly, it took practically everything Ed had not to smile at that remark. This girl, who had acted as an assistant automail surgeon when she was just eleven years old, and delivered a baby just a few months ago, didn't think she would have the guts to I.D a body? That was so rediculous it was almost laughable.

"Don't be an idiot" he said, rubbing his hand gently down her shoulder "You could've done it!"

But Winry shook her head "Not if it was someone I cared about..." she said in a small voice, stunning Ed into silence. His face was starting to turn a beet red colour he was sure Al would make fun of him for later, and in a bid to distract himself from the situation, he started to aimlessly look around the room, letting his gaze fall upon the table, the pictures on the walls, the huge hole still in the window from where Ling had crashed through it...

Ed frowned. _Ling._

He looked at Al "Hey, did Ling come back yet?"

Al shook his head, responding to him in the same flat voice he'd used when Ed had first walked in "No. He hasn't been back all day"

"Oh" was all E replied with. Turning his head, he looked at the window again, his arm still wrapped around his mechanic "I wonder where he is, then"

FMAB

The cold night air bit Ling's skin like little stabs of ice, reddening his cheeks and freezing his hands into numbness. He sat upon a rooftop deep within Central, his body shielded by the lack of light from the street. He'd lost track of how long he'd been up here, the same thoughts rushing through his head over and over again...

_It's all my fault._

_If I hadn't acted like a child and wandered off, she would never have had to search for me._

_If I had just stayed put, she might still be alive. _

_Some damned Emperor I'm going to be, _he thought bitterly, his eyes clenching shut. That didn't last long, and with a hiss of pain they flew open again.

He kept seeing her. Lan Fan. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her body in that alleyway, skin so pale it looked like marble, blood pooling around the pavement, her skin carved up like a piece of meat-

"Goddamn it!" Ling loudly graoned, knuckling his eyes in an attempt to force the images out of his eyes, out of his mind. But they wouldn't go away, staying with him like a stubborn, toxic plague.

_A plague I deserve..._

He still couldn't understand it. Lan Fan had come from a long line of Yao clan guardians, trained to protect his life since she was a child and had proved herself to be damn near unstoppable time and time again, so what the hell could kill her?

_And, _whispered a small voice in the back of his mind, _what would go to so much trouble to make her so...unpresentable?_

Ling's eye's narrowed, his fist clenched, it's numbness melted by the sudden fire that engulfed his soul, wrapping around his heart in a bind that was unlikely to break.

_A monster, _he answered himself, _a _monster _did that to her._

The twelfth son of the emperor of Xing rose to his feet. The cold wind of Amestris still circled hi, but he could no longer feel it. In his eyes a fire burned, a fire of understanding. A fire of sudden, new purpose.

_And monsters like that...have no place in this world!_

FMAB

"I'm going to kill it"

Well, the vow was certainly heartfelt, but Lust remained skeptical as she looked over at her furious brother. They were in the Chimera room, with her sitting on a small crate and him sitting on the ground and leaning against Barry the Chopper's empty cage. His legs were bent upwards, and the one arm that had been slung over them had it's hand clenched into a fist.

"You mean the creature that tore you apart in Central?" Lust clarified, and Envy nodded, his fist clenching tighter.

"That thing is the reason I lost my power. The reason I'm so..._weak!" _he spat the word like it was something dirty on his tongue. He bent his neck, his spikes of hair obscuring his face. Lust's eyebrow raised when she saw Envy's fist was shaking.

"I'm going to kill it. Maim it. Slaughter it. I'm going to chain it up and cut it open and watch it bleed to death as it screams for mercy. I'm going to make that thing _pay _for what it took from me!" his voice got louder he spoke, almost manic in it's intensity as he swore his revenge. Lust, however, was rather skeptical.

"And how do you plan to do that? Because it literally tore you apart the last time you faced it" she reminded him "_And _you won't have your power this time"

Envy lifted his head, his hair falling away from his face. Rather than looking discouraged, or even angry like she expected him to, there was a spark within his amethyst eyes, a flame of sorts, and a determined grin spread across his face, showing every one of his sharp white teeth.

"I'll do it, Lust" he told her, his voice oozing dark delight with the promise of coming torture "Believe me, I'll do it..."

_**The plot is thickening! Please tell me what you thought, and the next chapter shall be up on the 9th November. I hope everyone had a good Halloween!**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood does not belong to me. All characters and references to the show belong to FUNimation.**_

_**WARNING: It's a long one. That is all.**_

The Beast Within

Chapter 4

"Sir, with all due respect you shouldn't be here"

From the pile of paperwork on his desk, Roy Mustang glanced up at Lieutenant Hawkeye. She was stood directly in front of him with a look of disapproval on her pretty face. Mustang didn't so much as look up when he responded.

"I don't see what the problem is, Lieutenant, it's just paperwork" Hawkeye took the opportunity to roll her eyes at the ridiculous man. It had been barely three days since the Armstrong murder and his wounds hadn't even fully healed, and yet here he was, working away in Central, busy as a bee. That man...

But as much as she would love to argue her point, she knew it would be fruitless. One look at the paperwork he was reading told her that.

The Armstrong murder case. Since his homunculi theory had gne down in flames Mustang had devoted himself to finding out who the true killer was, and the first thing he'd done when he'd got here was go to the Central Archives for the case notes. It had been several days since the Majors murder, and many of the people close to him, including his family, had been questioned, but much to everyone's nothing of use had been uncovered so far. It was like this guy was some kind of ghost...

Hawkeye watched Mustang work, wondering what he was hoping to find within those notes. He looked so engrossed and determined, it reminded her of the look on his face after Hughes' funeral, when they'd stood before his grave.

"Was there something else, Lieutenant?" Hawkeye started when Mustang's voice floated from his bent head. Quickly regaining her composure, she shook her head.

"Uh, no Sir. Nothing" Mustang didn't respond, and she turned to take her leave.

But then the phone rang.

"Colonel Mustang" Hawkeye continued towards the door as he answered, but as she extended her hand to open it, she heard his soft gasp and turned back around.

She saw the Colonel. He was standing up at his desk, gripping the phone like a life-line in his hand, his words harsh and abrupt as he spoke into it.

"Are you absolutely certain?...do we have a name?...when?...yes I'll be right down...thank-you"

"Sir?" questioned Hawkeye as he hung up and moved out of his desk. As he came towards her he answered his unspoken question.

"There's been a development in the murder case" he said as they walked down the hall. Hawkeye sharply turned to him, not having to ask which case he was talking about.

"What kind of development?" she asked.

"Another murder" Mustang responded "The body was found with wounds identical to that of Armstrong and the Xingease girl found a few days ago"

"Was it another Central murder?"

The Colonel shook his head "No. It was in the South, in Dublith"

"Dublith?" Hawkeye frowned. "That's a stretch of distance for any mass murderer"

"Yeah, that's what I thought. And this one wasn't in an alley this time. It was in the victims own backyard. According to coroners in Dublith, Sig Curtis was killed sometime after nightfall"

Hawkeye's eyes narrowed. That name was familiar "Sig Curtis? Husband of Izumi Curtis?"

"Yes. He's the husband of the woman who trained the Elric brothers" Mustang responded stoically. He glanced at Hawkeye "Yeah, I know. I'm not looking forward to telling them either"

For a while, the two continued to walk in thoughtful silence. Until something occurred to Hawkeye that she felt stupid for not asking before "What about Mrs Curtis herself? Do you think she can tell us anything?"

"No" replied Mustang, and he looked at Hawkeye again "We haven't been able to reach her, and no-one in Dublith has seen her since last night.

"As far as we know, Lieutenant, Mrs Curtis has gone missing"

FMAB

"Ling! LING! Are you down here?!"

There was no response from the Eastern street of Central city, and Alphonse sighed and continued down the path, his footsteps clanking on the hard ground. As much as he missed his flesh body, he had to admit that his metal one had a lot of perks. One of them being that there were no muscles in his legs to scream in exhaustion from walking up and down Central city all day.

He guessed it had passed three in the afternoon by this point, and there was still no sign of Ling. He wondered if his brother and Winry, who were searching the west side, had already found him yet. It would be ironic as Ed hadn't even wanted to search for the prince in the first place, but after Al had pointed out that Amestrises relations with Xing would probably suffer if they let one of their princes die, he had relented.

_I wonder if he _is _dead, _whispered a nasty voice in his head. He turned a corner in the street, trying to ignore it, but it kept on hissing in his non-existent ear, _after all, he has been missing for three days, and there is a crazed killer on the loose-_

_Shut-up! _Al yelled at the voice, and it was quickly silenced. Good.

It wasn't in Alphonse's nature to be pessimistic. Besides, the...bodies from before had been found exactly one day after they were murdered, so it was unlikely that Ling had suffered the same-what on Earth was that?

Alphonse stopped in his tracks, looking across the street at a nearby market-place. The lights in his helmet that were his eyes squinted at the market, scanning past the shop vendors and potential customers looking for a bargain. If he had real eyes, he would've written this off as them being tricked.

But he didn't have real eyes, and he knew their being tricked was practically an impossibility.

In amongst the crowd, he'd seen a figure watching him. He could've been mistaken, or even a little paranoid, but the chill that ran up and down his soul was unmistakable. Someone had been watching him, someone with pale skin, and a mass of dark hair.

_A homunculus?_

Al continued to look for the figure for a few moments, but it had disappeared when he'd looked around. His eyes creased in a suspicious frown, but he quickly moved on, continuing with his search, despite the nagging sensation of suspicion in his mind. _Strange..._

As the armoured boy disappeared into the crowd, the dark haired figure turned it's head back towards their target, staring after his retreating metal back once again. As Alphonse Elric made his way out of the market place, the figures lips curved into a dark, smug smile.

FMAB

"_Ling!" _Edward called through the busy Central street, oblivious to the multiple stares he was getting as he screeched for the boy "_Hey! Idiot prince! Come out already!" _

Behind him was Winry, who had decided to help the Elric brothers search for him as her train back to Rush Valley wasn't due until later. Some ways down the path she leaned against a lamp-post, wiping her damp brow in fatigue. They had been searching for _hours. _

"I don't think he's here, Ed" she sighed.

"Yeah, well" said the alchemist from his perch atop a telephone booth "He's gotta be somewhere" he then jumped down and started heading further down the street, calling back to the girl behind him "Come on, we haven't checked this area yet"

They came to a shadowy part of Central with a bunch of conjoined houses. Off to a subtle corner, there was a bar that read "Madame Christmas" Ed put a hand to his head like a salute and started to scan down the street. Winry copied him, looking towards the rooftops.

"So Winry, what time does your train leave?"

_Huh? _Winry lowered her head and looked at Ed, the question surprising her. One minute they had been concentrating on looking for Ling and now Ed was suddenly asking her about train times? That was random

Then, a small light bulb went off in her head. Unless...

Winry smiled subtly "What, are you trying to get rid of me?" she teased, and Ed jumped.

"What? No!" he quickly protested, turning around with an expression of offense "I was just...wondering...ah, forget it! Come on, we have an idiot prince to find!" he grumbled, turning away and walking forward with a little more speed. Winry sighed, though she had to admit he was adorable when he was being an idiot.

"It's tonight at eight, Ed!" she told him, and he paused, turning back to her minus the scowl. In fact...hey, was he _blushing?_

"Right well...do you want Al and me to go with you?" he asked, and Winry smiled. Yep, that confirmed it, overprotective idiot...

But still, she nodded "Yeah, sure. That'd be great, Ed"

"O.k then" Ed bobbed his head in an embarrassed acknowledgement. Winry didn't get why, what was wrong with showing concern for other people? He worried about Al all the time!

She then noticed that, during her brief period of wonderment, Ed had moved significantly farther down the path. Groaning a little she hurried to catch up to him "Ed! Wait for me!"

He did it reluctantly, but the Fullmetal Alchemist slowed down until Winry caught up. Where she couldn't see he rolled his eyes in annoyance,_ man_, _slowpokes are so annoying!_

"Al might have already found him already, you know" she suggested, reffering to the younger brother who was searching the other side of the city. Ed turned to her, a blank expression on his face.

"Gee thank's Winry, that's _real _helpful" he drawled, turning a corner next to an alley. Winry made an offended noise, but it went unnoticed.

_And he thinks Ling is the moron..._she thought, a little annoyed, _oh well, might as well help him out..._

"LING YAO!" the first of the Rockbell girls screams shook buildings and felled tree's. Cars screeched to a halt in the street, Bbirds took flight and housepets ran for the hills, screeching out warning calls.

Edward Elric leapt about a foot into the air, eyes wide and heart hammering in his chest. How the hell could someone so willowy be so loud-WAIT! She wasn't done yet?!

"_WHERE ARE YOU?! GET OUT HERE ALREADY!" _she finished shrieking and looked back at Ed. The alchemist was looking around nervously, as if hoping someone hadn't called the cops. He then raised his automail hand, and when he spoke his voice came out as a small, timid squeak.

"Uh, Winry? I don't think he's-GAAH!"

There was a short whistling sound and Edward was suddenly forced to faceplant the ground by an unforeseen weight slamming down on him. Edward groaned, and Winry made a pleased sound.

"Hey, Ling! There you are!"

"WHAT?!" Ed roared, twisting his neck to face his back where the Xingease prince was indeed falling over his body. His eyes were open and there was a shocked expression on his face "LING?!" Ed yelled, wriggling and twisting to get the prince off him, but he was surprisingly heavy for such a small person "Where the hell are you sitting on me for, moron?!"

"S-she knocked me off a building!" Ling stammered, his eyes wide and a shaking hand pointing at Winry "I was on a roof and..it crumbled into dust!" he looked down at Ed fearfully _"How did she do that, Ed?!"_

"WILL YOU GET YOUR ASS OFF OF ME?!"

Winry giggled and bowed "Guess I'm not so useless after all!"

From his strewn position on the concrete, Ed blew a strand of blonde hair out of his face "I beg to differ!" he grumbled.

Winry stopped giggling and frowned at Ed. Then without warning she strode forward, grabbed Ling by the shoulder, and yanked the surprised prince into a standing position with one pull. With a hand on her hip, she jerked her head out at the blonde "Happy now, Edward?"

Ed jumped to his feet, turning to Ling "So, moron, where the hell have you been?" he snapped, and Winry gaped at him in disbelief. _Ungrateful son of a-!_

Ling shrugged. He no longer looked shocked, but instead was more...toneless than Winry had ever seen him. What was that word?

Guarded. He looked guarded.

_Was this...because of Lan Fan? _Winry felt a pang of sympathy for him, but her emotions went unnoticed as his attention was not directed towards her.

"I explored Central for a few days, what's the big deal?" he said to Edward, who hit him around the back of the head.

"_OW!" _Ling cried, clutching his skull "You're metal hand?! Really?!"

"The big deal, _moron!" _Ed snarled "Is that there's a nutcase serial killer going around Central, that can pretty much kill anyone! Including idiot princes!"

"Wow, Ed, I didn't know you cared..."

"I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU, YOU IDIOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" the blonde roared, his face turning crimson. With rage or embarrassment, Winry wasn't sure.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say" without further word, Ling started to walk away from the two Amestrians, but Ed wasn't through with him yet. He grabbed Ling by the shoulder and forced him back.

"You're not going anywhere just yet, dumbass! You've been gone for three days with some pshyco killer on the loose, where the hell have you been?!" Edward demanded, and Ling froze. A silence stretched between them, in which Ed and Winry awaited the young princes answer. He slowly turned his head, his black eyes open and empty.

"I couldn't come back" he said, his voice hallow. Winry looked at Ed, not understanding, but he appeared almost as clueless as she was.

"Couldn't come back? What are you talking about?" he paused "You mean because of Lan Fan? You couldn't come back because you felt guilty-?"

"Ed, shut up" Ling suddenly snapped, forcing his shoulder out of his automail's grip and turning around. His whole body was tense with defence, but when Winry looked at him, she saw the way his eyes were flickering up and down the street rather than Ed, looking at something the Fullmetal Alchemist himself did not see.

"Don't tell me to shut-up! You think you can just wander off and-?!"

"No, Ed, seriously, just shut-up!" the prince snapped at him yet again, throwing out a hand inches from his face to silence him. Ed started to protest.

"Hey-!"

"Ed, will you shut-up?!" Winry demanded, and when a betrayed Edward turned to her, she jabbed a finger towards Ling, and he finally _(finally!) _realised the situation.

"Something's watching us" said Ling, looking out into the street where a length of conjoined houses turned off into another path "Over there" he pointed to the location, and Winry and Ed followed his gaze. The girl stepped a little closer to the male blonde, and he moved his hands closer together, readying himself.

"Is it one of the Homunculi?" he asked Ling, keeping his voice down. The prince nodded, but then frowned.

"Well, that's odd"

"What?" said Ed, still keeping his eyes on the street.

"It's gone" Ling answered, speaking with the same confusion Ed felt "Like it just...walked away"

_Walked away? _Thought Winry, turning around and looking at the space where the homunculus had apparently been, _but why would it do that?_

"So, what? You think it was just watching us?" guessed Ed, and Ling shrugged, scratching the back of his head.

"No idea. It's a possibility" he let out a gust of breath and then started heading down the opposite side of the street again, and Edward was quick to shout after him.

"Hey! Where are you going now?!"

"Back to the hotel. I'm starving"

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Edward roared, and Winry winced when her eardrums took a beating "YOU CANNOT JUST DISAPPEAR FOR THREE DAYS AND THEN RACK UP A HUGE BILL ON MY ROOM SERVICE! COME BACK HERE, YOU MOOCHEEEEEEEEEEEER!" Ed started to run after the prince, leaving Winry to groan behind him.

"Good grief, the running again?" she moaned, and then proceeded to chase after the two idiots.

The strange presence was, for the moment, forgotten. But not for long.

FMAB

Down below Central, Lust walked into her Father's underground chamber and was immediately meet with a curious sight. She had just returned from a market in Central, making sure a certain armoured Sacrifice was keeping out of trouble (after all, there _was _a deranged killer running around) and had walked in to find almost all of her brothers-save for Sloth, who was still digging the underground tunnel, and Greed, who was dead-stood dutifully around Father's seat of power. A faint flicker of surprise dusted across her face at the sight of most of her brothers being in the same room, but it soon left as she went over to the pedestal and took her place beside Envy.

"Ah, here you are Lust" Father greeted her "Where have you been, my daughter? We've been waiting for you"

It sounded like he was scolding her, and yet all he'd had to do was send for her and she would've been here in a heartbeat. But the homunculi were used to their father expecting them to be able to read his mind on these matters, and so she knew exactly how to respond "I apologise, Father, got here as quickly as I could I was keeping an eye on the armoured Sacrifice"

"I see. How is young Alphonse?"

"Unharmed an healthy" she responded lazily "He's currently searching for some Xingease prince, but who cares about that?"

"Exactly" Father agreed, before getting back to more important matters "Now, as I was just about to tell your brothers, Lust, I have a new mission for you all. You remember the...entity, that caused Envy to loose his power?"

Lust nodded. Next to Wrath, Pride made a disgusted sound towards the now powerless homunculus "I can't believe he was defeated by a single opponent..."

Envy caught that, and glared at his brother in a sideways glance "Shut your mouth, brat" he growled at the first homunculus. He didn't.

"You've made yourself completely useless to us, are you aware of that?" he said, his voice annoyingly innocent and smooth "I wonder how long it'll be before you're replaced?" Envy stiffened, his fists clenching with the desire to attack and kill the little brat. Pride smirked, liking his reaction and the fact that he couldn't act on it without getting sliced up. But before he could say another word Father cut him off.

"Enough! Stop it, the pair of you" he ordered "We have more pressing matters than childish bickering. Pride, you should know better" Pride flushed, and Envy allowed himself a small smirk of victory while Father continued.

"Now, as I was saying, this creature has proved to be more troublesome than we thought. Wrath has just informed me that the home of a potential Sacrifice, Izumi Curtis, has been attacked"

"Another alchemist?" said Pride, sounding disturned, and the older homunculus nodded. If there was another alchemist killer circling the city, then the problem they were having with Scar would only increase. And what an annoyance that would be.

"Indeed. Which brings me to the new task I have for you, my children" Father rose up off his seat, his children following his movement as he faced each and every one of them before he spoke his next command.

"Starting tonight, you will seek out this creature and apprehend it. Once you have captured the being you will bring it to me" their faces were expressionless, the order understood. But Father saw the malicious intent in his androgynous son's eyes and made sure to add the last part with more firmness than usual "And I want it brought to me, _alive"_

Envy scowled. _Dammit!_

FMAB

Later that night, after the sun had set and the clouds had blotted out the moon, Ed and Al took Winry to Central station. Right before she had gone, she'd made the brothers swear to her to take care of themselves, to stay safe. And call her once in a while, for heavens sake!

They had promised, of course, as they normally did, and soon the train was off to Rush Valley, and the Elric brothers were headed back to their hotel for the night.

And that was where it all kicked off.

"Stupid cabs!" Edward cursed as another one ran past him "Are they're breaks broken or something? Why won't they stop?!"

"Why don't we just walk home, Ed?" suggested Al for what felt like the millionth time "It's only a few streets away"

"Yeah, easy for you to say you don't have legs that'll scream at you all night!"

If Al had eyes, they would be rolling "Brother, we don't have any change to catch a bus or make a call, and no-one is stopping for us. Let's just walk! If it's really such a problem then I'll carry you!" Ed glowered at his brother at the embarrasing suggestion, and quickly started stomping down the street "Let's just walk..."

Internally, Al smirked, and started to follow his brother and after twenty minutes of walking they found themselves in an unnaturally dark street. It was oddly quiet too for some reason, maybe the cold weather was keeping everyone inside?

"Do you think Ling will be there when we get back?" said Al, catching Ed by surprise. What brought that on? Nevertheless, he answered.

"I don't know...I guess so, why?"

Al shrugged his huge shoulders so they clanked together "I don't know, he just...do you think Lan Fan's death may have effected him more than we thought?"

"More? Al, you were in that warehouse too, I doubt he could've been more effected than he was in there" he said, remembering the breakdown and the tears in his eyes. What more could there be to give?

"I don't know" Al admitted "It's just, when he came back with you and Winry today he seemed..._changed, _somehow"

Ed frowned, thinking back. Sure, when they'd found him he'd been distant, his annoying chatter being at a minimum and, at times, seeming to go off into another space altogether. But he'd assumed it was only natural giving what he'd been through, the change Al seemed to be speaking of didn't make any sense to him.

"What do you mean?" he said, but his brother didn't answer him, and he looked up "Al?"

The armoured body had suddenly stopped, his helmet staring at something in the distance down the street. Ed followed his gaze, seeing nothing except a few streetlights-some of which had been...broken. Well, that explained the darkness-some parked cars, and a road that turned off into the left. Ed looked at his brother again.

"Al? Is something wrong?" he asked, and the younger brother wordlessly lifted a metal hand and pointed to one of the few non broken lamp-posts.

"Over there, Brother. Look"

Ed looked again, this time following the finger Alphonse pointed with to the broken government equipment. Focusing on it properly, he saw the bright light coming from the glass, the long metal pole holding it up, the black haired girl crouching at the foot of the pole-EH?!

"Ed, come on!" said Al, already running over to the child's aid, his brother already hot on his heels.

_That kid, she only looks about twelve years old..._thought Ed as they closed in on the child, _what kind of parent lets a kid out at this time of night?_

"Hey little boy! Are you O.k?" Al called, causing Ed to look at him weirdly. No way that kid could be a boy! Her long black locks were obscuring her face, but the kid was so small, and were few boys he knew with that much hair. It couldn't be a guy!

"Boy? Al, I'm pretty sure that's-" Ed stopped. As they stopped in front of him/her, Ed got a good look at the kid and he was suddenly questioning his gender-assessment. The child's head was bent, so he couldn't see their face, and yeah they had long hair, but their pinched face and wiry body had a definite boyish quality. What gender was this kid?

Then Edward noticed what the child was wearing, and all thoughts of gender assessment flew out of his head. The kid was wearing a dirty pair of light grey shorts, and a shirt that might have once been white. The clothes were very bedraggled, and torn and frayed in placed like they had been wearing them for a long time. _Poor kid must be homeless..._

"Hey, are you alright?" Al's soothing voice brought him out of his head, and he looked at his brother to see him kneeling down next to the boy, keeping a safe distance so as not to scare him but the child still whimpered, drawing his legs up to his chest and pressing his face into his knee's.

"P-please don't hurt me!" he begged, his squeaky voice not helping the whole gender thing. Ed felt a pang of pity for the boy, and knelt down beside Al in front of him.

"Hey, listen" he said kindly "We're not here to hurt you, I promise. We wanna help you" he smiled encouragingly, but the boy didn't look up to see it and his grip tightened around his legs. Ed looked to Al for help, and the younger brother leaned towards the boy a little.

"Really, we aren't going to hurt you! My brothers a State Alchemist, and they're trained not to hurt anyone!"

The words 'State Alchemist' seemed to strike something within the kid, and his head finally rose up of his knees. Without thinking Ed frowned. It being near pitch black out here, he could hardly see himself save for the spots of street near the lamps, so why was this kid wearing sunglasses?

"A S-State Alchemist?" the boy repeated, the circular lens reflecting Edward's face. The glasses were so dark he couldn't see even a hint of the kids eyes. He nodded encouragingly, even bringing out his silver pocket watch with the Amestrian crest and hanging it in front of his face.

"Yeah, my names Edward Elric" he introduced himself "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, and this is my brother-_ah!"_

It came completely out of nowhere. One second Ed was trying to comfort the little kid Al had found in the street, and the next he was soaring through the air and slamming onto the ground, his chest screaming like someone had punched a hole through it and his back feeling like it had been ripped open. He heard Al gasp and call his name, and then his brothers yell and heavy clank of metal as he too befell the same fate.

"W-what the hell?!" Edward coughed, trying to push himself upright but a sudden foot to his chest forced him to stay down. His golden eyes looked up, and above him he saw the little boy he'd just tried to help, a foot planted on his chest and a violent, toothy grin spreading across his face. He lifted a hand, and pulled the sunglasses off his face to reveal two completely white eyes.

Ed's own eyes widened in his head when he got his first look at the creatures. There was no iris in the white surface, no pupil, no colour of any kind, it was like he'd rolled his eyes into the back of his head.

_WHAT THE HELL?! What is this thing?!_

"The Fullmetal Alchemist, huh? That's all I need to hear" the creature chuckled. Ed cursed an tried to move but the boy increased the pressure on his chest, pressing down until the alchemist was sure he was going to break a rib. The boy spread his arms and pushed out his chest "You know, I'm surprised I didn't recognise you, Shorty" _SHORTY?! _"God, I'm such a scatterbrain! But, then again, it's not so hard to overlook a little pipsqueak like you, Edward"

_O.k, I clearly need to punch this kid._ "Alright, Brat! Time for you to learn some respect!" trying to ignore the pain of the breath being forced from his lungs, Ed grabbed the ankle that was pressing down on his body and tried to wrench it from his chest, but to his horror and confusion it wouldn't budge! The kid's grin widened, and that's when the alchemist realised that this kid was strong...supernaturally strong.

"What are you?" Ed spat, his grip tightening to breaking point on the ankle but the creature only bit his lip coyly. He didn't seem to feel any pain at all! "Come on, if you're going to kill me, shouldn't I at least get to know the name of my murderer?"

The creature threw back his head and laughed. Oh man, that high voice sure made a hell of a creepy sound..."A name? What need do I have of that? Now come on, Shorty, aren't you at least going to fight ba-oh lordy, here's the other one"

"BROTHER!" Ed craned his neck up and saw Al tearing down the road towards them, running as fast as he could and his hands clapping as he approached "GET AWAY FROM HIM, NOW!"

The creature looked at Alphonse, and scowled "Dammit, why did he have to be here?" he looked down at Ed, who was now trying to wriggle his body out from under him, and pouted "This is gonna make this take _longer!"_

"If you're gonna pout about it, then why don't you just surrender and call this whole thing off?" Ed suggested, digging the fingers of his automail hand into the foot. The creature laughed again, and his foot pressed down even harder, forcing the air out of his lungs, bruising his ribs, making the darkened street turn even darker...

_CRASH!_

"Jesus!" the boy leapt back off Ed's chest and the alchemist rolled out of the way when a giant concrete hand plummeted towards them. It crashed into the ground, missing them both by inches.

Coughs wrenched themselves out of Edwards throat and he tried to push his body into a standing position. Turning his head, he saw his younger brother, his hands still pressed to the ground and his bright red eyes focusing on the creature that was still flying through the air.

"Missed me, ah-ha!" it sang as it's small body soared through the air, cackling madly. But his laughter was short lived as another concrete hand shot up towards him and he had to twist in the air to avoid it. Only to avoid another one. And another.

On the ground, Alphonse kept up the assult, keeping his hands firmly pressed against the ground and sending waves of alchemy into it, breaking the ground apart and reaching higher and higher with the concrete blocks in an effort to hit and grab at the monster. But the child seemed to be untouchable as he ducked, dived and at times actually jumped off the hands themselves to avoid being hit by them.

"Dammit!" Al roared, clapping his hands and slamming them on the ground again, this time creating a huge block of concrete that shot straight towards the boy's face in record time. But the boy only jumped out of it's way once again, even going so far as to perch on the ten foot high block lazily and stick out his tongue mockingly at the armoured alchemist, making Al burn with rage.

_Goddammit! Why is it so hard for me to hit this thing?!_

On his ten foot perch, the immature creature laughed and swung his legs childishly in the air "Na na ne na na, you can't catch-_oof!"_

Out of nowhere another hand of concrete and pipe shot from the ground and hit the creature full force. As he sailed through the air and into a pitch black part of the street, he let out a blood curdling scream. Then there was a sickening _thud!_

And then, silence.

Chuckling softly to himself, Ed rose up off his knee's and brushed dust clouds off his clothes. He had to admit, that kid had been a good opponent, but no-one could dodge an attack they didn't see coming.

"Brother? Are you O.k? _Brother!" _Ed looked up at Al's frantic yell and saw Al rushing towards him, concern radiating from the suit of armour.

"Yeah yeah I'm fine, Al!" he yelled back, coughing a couple of times in testament to his crushed lungs. He looked towards the debris he and his brother had created. There was rubble, the remains of concrete and a long stretch of road from Al's alchemy. But no body that they could see.

Ed shrugged, rubbing his sore chest as Al drew up next to him "Did you get it?"

"I think so" said Ed, shaking his head and looking around the carnage "He shot off when I attacked him, but I didn't see where he went"

Al looked at him "You think he ran off?"

"Guess again, Metal Boy!"

A sudden flurry of limbs and Al was flying across the street again, crashing against the glass display window and soaring into the shop it belonged to. Ed shouted his brothers name but soon he too was knocked off his feet, but this time he flipped through the air and made sure he landed right back on them. His gold eyes scanned the darkened street, looking out for the little bastard as he clapped his hands and-

"YES!"

Ed ducked as something sharp soared past his head and missed him by inches. On instinct he lengthened his automail into a sharp blade and sliced it into the weapon above him. No-one was more shocked than he was when blood of all things oozed out of it and he heard a high pitched scream.

"OOOOOOOW! GODDAMN KNIVES!"

"Alphonse, you O.k?!" Ed screamed, but Al was already barrelling towards the creature in the middle of the road, leaping through the air and swinging out his leg in a flying round-house kick to the head. Inches from the vital appendage his leg stretched, his foot brushed against the black hair and-

He missed.

Ed blinked. One second the kid was there and the next Alphonse was falling to the ground after kicking thin air! How the hell was he that fast?!

"How the hell-?!"

"I don't know!" All yelled back. The he gasped and pointed "ED! LOOK OUT!"

There was a whistling right behind him and Ed cursed before ducking to the ground. He looked up as a strange, flesh coloured blade-like spike thing passed over him. It twisted in the air and Ed sliced and ducked when it jetted towards his face. He rolled on the ground, his eyes facing towards the blades origin, and what he saw nearly made his heart stop in his chest.

It was the kid. His dark hair was falling over his face and his grin was still very much there, but there was a new feature to his being that the brothers were pretty sure hadn't been there before.

It was the base of huge blade that had tried to kill Edward. But it wasn't in his hand.

It was in his stomach.

Ed gaped at the creature, revulsion and horror rolling around in his stomach. The hole torn in the creature's white shirt revealed the pale skin of the creatures belly, but instead of being soft and flat like most people's, it was taut and stretched, and pointing outwards in front of his body, stretching out...into the blade.

_The knife was made from this monster..._Edward stared at the monstrosity, hardly daring to believe his eyes, _he can make weapons out of his own body..._

"Get a good look did ya, short stuff?" the creature cackled, and Ed gasped and swerved to his feet when another spike shot out of it's arm and headed towards his face. He hissed when it grazed his forehead, drawing blood, but when he saw the path it was headed-right towards his fast approaching younger brother-he clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground so that a huge wall of concrete cut the blades path.

"Funny!" the creature cackled as he lept into the air and stood on the wall "Because that's the same look that Armstrong guy had when I kill-I DON'T THINK SO!"

The creature fell back off the wall when Ed clapped his hands again and pressed them on the ground "What are you?!" he screamed at it "Some kind of homunculus?!" several arrows forming in the ground and shooting towards the kid. There was a blur of black, and all of a sudden the kid was stood right next to him! DAMMIT!

"No!" shouted Al, leaping over to Ed with a well aimed flying punch, but with another blur of movement the creature dodged it again, reappearing next to the lamp-post from whence they'd found him.

"Dammit!" Ed snarled as Al crashed to the floor with a frustrated cry. He was starting to get sick of that cocky look on the little bastards face "How is he so damn fast?!"

"Shorty, if ya have to ask, you'll never know!" the creature cackled. Fire burned within Ed's core, "DAMN YOU KID, DON'T CALL ME SHORT!" he screamed, and he knelt down again with another clap of his hands, going to press his hands on the concrete but being stopped when Al knocked him to the side to avoid another flesh spike aimed towards his head. Eds back slammed onto the concrete, and he groaned in pain.

"Brother, are you alright?" Al asked worriedly. Ed nodded, smiling weakly.

"Dammit, _hold still_ when you do that!" the creature shrieked "I will have your power, dammit!" there was a groaning of metal and, when the Elric brothers rose, they saw he had punched the lamp-post into a folded lump of metal. Ed smirked.

"Tell you what, kid, how about _you _hold still for ten seconds and we'll see what happens there. How does that sound?"

The creature laughed, and shook his mane of hair "Nah! I prefer my game: Seeing how long you guys will last until you give up with trying to catch the fasted being on earth!"

"Really?" said a smooth, seductive voice "I myself find it rather dull"

Ed frowned. Was it just him or did that voice sound familiar? But before he could think anymore about it, something black and slender whipped through the air from behind the creature, and seconds later the little brat was shrieking in pain as a flood of blood gushed from it's cheek. Ed blinked in surprise, that sense of familiarity filling him again. He had seen those blades before...

"Brother, look!" Al bumped his shoulder and Ed looked down to see the creature, it's mouth growling and it's hands pressed against it's face. It's cock-sure attitude was definatley gone.

"I know you..." the creature growled, turning around and snapping into the darkness behind it "Well? Are you going to come out or what, bitch?!"

Another flash of slender blade and blood was now gushing from a slice in the creatures stomach. As Ed and Al watched it screeched in pain, it's arms wrapping around itself and becoming soaked with red blood.

"Now now, little boy, is that any way to speak to your elders?" said the smooth voice from the shadows, and moments later a figure emerged from the black depths. She was tall, beautiful with long black hair and amethyst eyes, and sharp finger-blades that could cut through any substance like it was butter.

This was Lust. One of the homunculi from the fifth laboratory. The Elric brothers recognised her instantly and moved into a fighting stance, but strangely enough, her attention was not foucsed on them.

She looked down at the creature she'd just sliced into, and her full lips curved down into a deceptive show of offense. Lifting her right hand in front of her face, she lengthened her fingers until they were transformed into five sharp, two foot long blades, and her full lips turned into a terrifying smile.

"I think it's high time, that you learned some manners..."

_**What do we think, readers? Sorry about the cliffhanger but I didn't want this to be too long. The next chapter will be up on the 16th, hope to see you then :)**_


	6. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood does not belong to me. All characters and references to the show belong to FUNimation.**_

The Beast Within

Chapter 5

_What the hell is _she_ doing here?! _Edward watched with suspicion as Lust circled the creature she had just maimed. It's body was bent at the slitted waist, it's long hair obscuring it's face from sight. The homunculus smirked, and raised her claws again.

"You two can run away now" she said to the Elric brothers "I've got it from here"

_WHAT?! So now she's _helping _us!?_ Ed gaped at her in disbelief. And then he thought. _Is this...something to do with the Sacrifice thing? _

"Damn you..." everyone looked down as the creature spoke. It's head lifted, and through a veil of hair they could see blood trickling from the corner of it's mouth. It sniggered weakly "I...can't believe I didn't...expect this. You always show up...at the worst moment...don't you, Lust?"

Frowning slightly, Ed's golden eyes flickered between the two supernatural beings. Lust looked down stoically at the creature, while the creature grinned up at her. _The way it talks to her...it's like they know each other..._he looked up at Al and an armoured nod told him that he'd seen the same thing, which left them to wonder what was going on. Was the monster like Greed? Another homunculus that had strayed from the fold?

But then Lust lifted a delicate eyebrow.

"Boy, you speak like you know me" she drawled, and Ed was amazed at how bored a person could sound "And yet, you and I have never met"

Well, that answered that question, _so they _don't _know each other..._

"Well..." the creature wheezed, and with a sharp breath he pushed himself upright "The knowledge is relatively new!"

"Oh, really?" Lust checked out her finger blades in a bored fashion, and it was through them that she saw the Elric brothers still stood there, watching her and the creature. She blinked "What are you two still doing here? I thought I told you, I've got this"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Edward shot back. Lust rolled her eyes.

"That is none of your concern, boy. I'm simply here to retrieve this specimen" she leaned over the boy again, who was still hissing and shaking in pain "You are the one I'm looking for, right?" she cooed "The one who had an encounter with Envy?"

_Envy? _Ed thought back, remembering the guy with the palm tree hair and oroborus tattoo on his thigh in the Fifth Laboratory, _does she mean the palm tree guy? _

Interrupting his thoughts, he felt Al's large hand on his shoulder "Brother!" he hissed "Look at the boy!"

The urgancy in his voice compelled Ed to look, but when he did he saw nothing except a boy crippled with pain that was about to be 'Brought In' or whatever that meant, by a homunculus "What am I supposed to be seeing?" he whispered back, and Al let out a soft groan and pointed.

"His _hands! _Brother,look at his hands!"

_His hands? _Ed turned around and looked again. He looked at the boys pale hands and arms, wrapped around his midsection where Lust-who was now raking her finger blades none too gently across his back-had sliced him and saw nothing out of the ordina-wait a sec.

A gasp of a breath left the alchemists lips. Oh God...how had he not noticed it before? While he had been too damn busy wondering how the hell a homunculus had gotten here so fast, he'd been oblivious to what the little monster itself had been doing!

Underneath his hands, barely visible to the naked eye, was a red glow. He'd seen that glow before, back in Dublith.

The creature wasn't crippled. It was healing.

Almost as soon as he noticed it the red glow disappeared and the creature's lips opened in a wide sharp toothed grin. To Lusts surprise he shot up an arm and knocked her nails from his back, and before she could take so much as a second recover he shot up into the air and struck out a leg that caught her full in the chest and sent her flat on her back. She cried out in fury, sitting up on her elbows and spitting hair out of her mouth.

"You brat!" she snarled, her purple eyes glowing red "How dare you!"

"I dare easily, Lusty!" the creature snickered, standing on top of the lamp pole he had bent in half, a confident smirk still on his face. Underneath his blood-stained shirt where his wounds had been, there was now pale, unmarked skin.

"I knew it!" Ed yelled, and the creature raised an eyebrow at him when the alchemist pointed an accusing gloved finger at him "You _are _a homunculus, aren't you?!"

The creature's mouth dropped open and he put a hand to his chest in mock-offense, but before he could respond to the accusation three slender blades shot at his and caused him to bend over backwards to avoid them. A low growl was heard, and Lust rose to her feet, her arm outstretched with her blades.

"I don't know what level of insanity you are at, boy" she spoke to Ed, but kept her sight locked on her prey "But this thing is _not _a homunculus!"

The creature grinned "Yeah, and that's just about the only thing you _do _know, isn't it, Lus-CRAP!"

The creature's taunt was cut off when there was a blur of black and the supernaturally strong woman was bent over it. She was on her feet, her back bent with her hand closed over it's neck and pinning him to the ground as she raised her claws to strike.

"I know I'm meant to take you alive" Lust smirked, her fingers extending and sharpening into torturous points "But I was never told I couldn't maim you within an inch of your life!"

"But can you really do it, Lust?" the creature squeaked, his hands wrapping around hers and struggling to pry it off "Can you really maim a member...of your own family?"

Lust frowned, her hand pausing for a mere instant and not noticing the red sparks that were starting to surround him. She looked down at the creature in irritated confusion "What on Earth are you-?"

Her words were cut off with a gasp, and Ed and Al watched in amazement as the red sparks engulfed the creature, wrapping around his small body like a red ring and travelling upwards. As the light travelled, his body changed, lengthening and expanding his limbs until he morphed from a small child into...some bald fat guy?

"How did he do that?!" Al gasped, and Ed was wondering the same thing. But more than that he was wondering why Lust had softly gasped, her hand hesitating in the air above the lump of lard. Then her face twisted into a look of pure, unadulterated hate, but before she could do anything the lump of lard grinned, and without much further ado he sucker-punched her straight in the face.

"Argh!" Lust cried as she was knocked several feet across the street, but in no time at all she had rolled over to her side and shot out her finger-blades again, aiming for the fat guy that was now on his feet and-was he bouncing? Oh dear God, he was bouncing-away, avoiding the blades with surprising agility.

"_STOP HIM!" _Lust screeched, and without so much as a thought towards how wrong it was to obey the enemy the brothers quickly snapped into action, clapping their hands and slamming them down on the ground. Blue light crackled on the ground around the fat guy, and seconds later four huge walls of concrete and metal exploded around it in a square. Tapping it.

"HA!" Ed yelled triumphantly "GOTCHA NOW, YOU LITTLE BAS-!"

_BOOM!_

Like it was made of snow the wall facing the Elric brothers and Lust exploded into rubble, a huge dust cloud following in it's wake. Ed jerked back when fragments came dangerously close to his face, and almost missed it when the creature-now back in it's regular form-walked through the hole. And Ed was furious to see that it was grinning.

"What?! It can shape-shift too?!" Al exclaimed, and the creature cackled and took a bow.

"Sorry boys" it said when it straightened up "But it's gonna take more than that to capture _me!" _he cackled wildly and turned to run away.

"Oh no you don't!" Ed tore after it and sliced at the boy with his transmuted blade, but by the time he came close enough to inflict any damage, he was gone.

Vanished. Again.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT!"

FMAB

"You idiots" the brothers turned around when Lust sighed irritably. She dusted off her dress and brushed back her long hair, crossing her arms under her generous chest "Can't you do anything right?"

"Hey, shut-up!" Edward yelled, rounding on her. Then, a drop of lucidity "When the hell did you get here anyway?" his eyes narrowed "Is this part of the Sacrifice plan you guys have?"

Lust raised an amused eyebrow and didn't answer. Instead she walked forward, silently examining the debris the creature left.

"Damn..." Ed heard her mutter "He will not be pleased..."

"He?" Ed repeated "Who the hell is _he?" and why won't he be pleased? _A rational part of Ed's mind whispered. He remembered she had spoken to the creature, something about having to bring it in...

_Oh you've gotta be KIDDING!_

"You're after that thing, aren't you?" Al, clearly being on the same wavelength as Ed, questioned her. When she gave no reaction, he continued "You didn't just come here to stop him from killing us. You came to capture it, didn't you?"

At last, the sin turned around and faced him, looking mildly impressed "Yes, I did. And that's all you need to know"

Ed's glare intensified at her evasiveness, to which Lust responded with a patronizing smile. She looked at the hole the creature had made the boys tramsmutation, and it wavered.

"You boys shouldn't be out so late, you know" she warned them "With a monster like that running around you could easily get killed, and we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

Ed stared at her. What the-wai-was she-?! Was she seriously _lecturing them right now?! _Ed breathed in a long gustful of air to go into a full on Fullmetal Alchemist rant, but Lust was already walking away, her sure, heeled footsteps carrying her in the direction of the shadows the creature itself had ran off to.

"Hey! Wait!" Ed yelled after her, but Lust didn't pause.

"As much as I would love to dally here, boys, I'm afraid I have some business to take care of" she lifted a clawed hand, and waved her retracting finger blades at them as she disappeared into the shadows "Goodnight, Elric Brothers..."

"JUST WAIT ONE DAMN SECOND!" Edward yelled, and both brothers chased her in the direction she had strode. But-

"Dammit, she's gone!" the smaller boy cursed, kicking the ground underneath him. Running a hand through his hair and groaning loudly. He expected Al to be just as pissed as him (well...that was unlikely...but still, he should've been at least mildly annoyed!) but instead he got a different response.

"Brother, I don't think she's the one we need to be worrying about right now!" said Alphonse, and Ed looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about the monster we just fought" his brother's voice started to quiver, and the soft clanking of his armour indicated that he was actually shaking "Did...did you see those _things _come out of his body?"

Ed frowned, and nodded. Those blade-like things...shooting out of the small boy's body like some freak of nature...he doubted he would ever forget something like that "Yeah, of course I saw them. Why-"

"Do you remember, the wounds that were on Lan Fan and Armstrong, Ed?" Al's voice was hard, even as he tried and failed to control the quake in his voice. The Fullmetal Alchemist nodded again, remembering the wounds being described as deep stab wounds.

Wait a second. Stab wounds...and so many of them...against two of the strongest fighters...that couldn't happen unless they were fast...

Or well equipped.

"Do you remember what the creature said to you, Brother? Back when we were fighting?"

And it was then that Ed remembered, as they had been fighting that beast and he was perched on the wall Ed had made, he'd said something with a gleeful smile:

"_Because that's the same look the Armstrong guy had when I kill-"_

_Killed. _

Edward Elric turned white, his face blanched, and a small gasp released itself from his lips. _Oh my God..._

"It was him" his voice was barely a whisper, a low, dangerous whisper that carried to his brothers non existent ears and made him nod. The golden haired boys features darkened, and his hands clenched into shaking fists as he spat the realised truth:

"That's the monster we've been looking for. He's the one that murdered the Major and Lan Fan!"

If Al had a face, Ed knew it would be showing horror "Brother..."

Ed nodded grimly "I know. Now come on!" the boy took off running down the street and Al quickly followed him, his body clanking loudly with speed.

"Where are we going?" Al called after his brother.

"To Central command!" Ed called back "We've gotta tell the Colonel what we know!"

FMAB

Half an hour later and the brothers were sat in a couple of vacant seat's in Mustang's office with a bandage taped against the cut on Ed's forehead, looking around at the people room feeling reluctantly impressed. Who else could summon their team so fast at this time of night?

Twenty minutes earlier the two had barged into the Colonel's office (which he had just loved) and now Lieutenant Hawkeye, Lieutenant Breda, Officer Fulman and Sergeant Fury stood to attention in front of Mustangs desk as their commander repeated what the Elrics had already told him. The creature, it's body, Lust, the murders the little bastard had committed.

"Son of a bitch..." muttered Breda, which was followed by a small pained cry when Hawkeye elbowed him in the ribs. Mustang continued with his description as if there had been no interruption.

"From what the Elrics have told me this beast has immense power, though it claims not to be a homunculus. It is child-like in appearance, and can make sharp blades out of it's own body. I'm also told that it is a shape shifter"

"Wonderful" Hawkeye uncharacteristically interrupted, less than pleased "So if he's a shape-shifter that means he could be anyone. How are we supposed to-oh, for Gods sakes, Furey, it's not me!" she snapped, causing the sergeant to jump violently before blushing crimson as his hand slipped away from his gun. Hawkeye rolled her eyes while the rest of the team tried to stifle their smirks.

Mustang, being the slight dick that he was, didn't even do that much "Don't worry, Furey" he chuckled "I'll keep an eye on her" he winked at Hawkeye and the sergeant whimpered as the brown irises burned a hole in the side of his head.

Mustang's smile vanished, and he returned to the more serious matter at hand "Now, you all understand that it is of vital importance that this thing is apprehended. We still don't know much about this monster so I am urging you to not travel alone until it is caught, and make sure you are armed and ready at all times. Am I clear?"

"Sir!" chanted the team with a formal salute. Ed cocked an eyebrow._ Damn robots..._

"I myself plan on informing the Fuhrer of these developments. He was involved with the incident down South and may be able to help us" Mustang paused, his hands folding over his desk like he was waiting for someone to contradict him. When no word was uttered, he dismissed them "That's all for now, I'll inform you if there have been any updates"

"Very good, sir" another salute from the team and, one by one, they filed out of the office until only Hawkeye remained. As Ed and Al moved to leave, the First Lieutenant inclined her head significantly towards the boys, giving the Colonel one of her _looks. _An infamous look that said "Well? Are you going to do it or not?"

Mustang felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, knowing what the look meant and not liking it. However, he also knew that his subordinate was just as unwilling to do this as he was, and yet she was still staying by his side. Maybe that was what made him able to call the boys back.

"Fullmetal. Alphonse. Wait a minute" the boys paused and turned, Ed wearing a typical 'What Now?' grimace on his face. Inwardly, Mustang copied his actions. This was going to be fun..."There's something you boys need to know. If you'll please retake a seat"

The Elrics did as the Colonel dictated, but not without Edwards usual, whining stream of complaints "Really Colonel? Can't this wait until tomorrow morning, it's the middle of the night!"

"No, it can't" Mustang responded, and Ed empathically rolled his eyes before plonking himself down on a chair with Alphonse following next to him. They looked at him expectantly. Mustang swallowed, there were a lot of things he didn't exactly like about his job, the Ishvalan War of Extermination being just the tip of that iceberg, but this, sitting here while trying to decide how to tell someone that an old friend was dead...sometimes his job just plain sucked, and after a moments consideration, he decided to just blurt it out Military Style.

"This afternoon Central Command got a call of another body being found that may have been the work of the killer you guys faced this evening. The body was found in Dublith" Mustang surprised himself with the punch-in-the-gut feeling he felt when he saw they boys stiffen at the last word. Maybe he really was growing soft after all "And I'm sorry, but according to the records we got from there, the body was that Sig Curtis"

Mustang had expected the reaction, but seeing it in real life was a shock all the same. At the news of their teacher's husbands murder, the Fullmetal Alchemist's face to crack like an egg and for Al's metal body to stiffen like it hadn't even heard the word Oil. Leather hands clenched tight, and Mustang was sure he heard a small sob echo in that large suit of armour.

"And..." when Ed spoke, his voice was shaking in a soft whisper, and Mustang couldn't tell if it was with anger or grief with which he spoke "Our teacher? Where is she?"

Mustang glanced at Hawkeye, who slowly nodded encouragingly, and he looked back at the boys "No-one's seen her since her husband was...found. From what we know, she's gone missing"

"Shit!" A soft whimper came from Alphonse when Ed cursed and pressed his face into his flesh hand, and the Colonel felt a stab of empathy for them both. He, of all people, knew what it was like to loose someone when you had practically no-one.

Nevertheless he maintained his stoic appearance and continued "I understand this must be quite a shock-"

"Oh, you think?" Ed's snide side was quick to return and Mustang was quick to ignore it.

"And under normal circumstances I would forbid you from having anything to do with this case-"

"NO!" both the brothers yelled it out automatically. Damn, they couldn't even let him finish a sentence...

"But in this case, I'll made an exception. If you so choose" as expected, Ed looked at Colonel Mustang like he had just swallowed a bottle of acid thinking it was milk. He rose up off his seat, his face set, and clenched his steel fist at his side.

"Of course we choose it. Why the hell wouldn't we?!" he viscously spat, and Al nodded with a sound of agreement "This thing has been going around and killing our friends for too Goddamn long, so I say it's about time it was taken out" his metal hand clenching into a fist in front of his "And knocked back into whatever putrid corner of hell it came from!"

"Right!" Al jumped to his feet and nodded in agreement, and without one more word the boys practically flew out the door, taking care to slam it extra hard on the way.

A pregnant silence entered the office after the Elrics had gone, and when Mustang eventually looked away from the door, he noticed Hawkeye looking down at him.

"What? You don't think I should've told them?" that would be rich, coming from the very woman who'd silently urged him to tell them in the first place.

But Hawkeye shook her head, turning her gaze towards the door much like the Colonel had done a moment ago "No, I think you did the right thing, they deserved to know"

"But?" Mustang didn't miss much and he definatley didn't miss the undercurrent of doubt in his subordinates voice.

"But" she admitted, turning back to face him "I can't help but wonder how this might effect them should they come across that _thing _again. With all due respect, sir, you know how these boys are. They let their emotions run wild and I have to wonder if it's a goo idea to keep them on this case"

Mustang inwardly smiled. He doubted Hawkeye realised it, but as she'd been talking her usually hard, stoic voice had gotten steadily softer so that by the end of her little speech, she almost sounded like a concerned parent. As he looked at her face, he saw that that too had softened, something he rarely got to see.

_Shame, that's a good look on her..._Mustang thought to himself.

Then the softness disappeared "Sir?"

Mustang blinked as he was pulled back into reality "I-I see your point, Lieutenant" he said, like an ass. To hide his embarrassment he leant his elbows on his desk and rested his chin on his hands, directing his gaze to the door instead of Hawkeye "But you forget, those boys already know what can happen if you let your emotions take you too far" a saddened look came to the lieutenants face, and Mustang felt a twist in his gut as he remembered the first time he'd seen the ten year old trapped in a suit of armour, and the eleven year old with a missing arm and leg.

But he also remembered the fire he'd seen that day. The fire in Ed's eyes when he gave him the opportunity to become a State Alchemist, and today, he'd seen that fire again.

In the Colonel's office, Hawkeye was surprised to see her superior wear a confident smile on his face.

"Don't worry, Hawkeye, those boys are going to be just fine"

FMAB

On a couch in the Elric's hotel room, a black haired boy stirred in his sleep, a soft groan escaping from his lips. He was dreaming. Well, dreaming might be a bit generous. Dreams are supposed to be sweet, and the images playing in Ling Yao's head were anything but sweet.

_She was in front of him, laying on the cold stone floor and soaked in her own dark red blood. It clotted her black hair, stained her white skin. Even the whites of her ebony orbs were tinted with the red of her deep, bullet-like wounds. Blood poured from the holes in her arms, her legs, the centre of her white forehead._

"_My Lord..." she calls to him, an impaled arm rising weakly towards him, spazaming violently before falling again "My Lord...please..."_

Lan Fan! _He reaches for her, trying to get to her before she bleeds to death, but for some reason his legs won't follow his commands. It's like they're weighed down, pinned into place by unseen hands grasping his ankles._

"_My Lord...help me..." she calls to him again, the red fingers of her outstretched hand twitching at her plea, but no matter how hard the prince struggles he cannot reach her. A pool of blood begins to pool around her body, and Ling screams her name in fury and desperation when her eyes begin to flutter closed._

"_No! Lan Fan, stay with me! PLEASE!" he begs her to live, pulling at his legs with all his strength but to no avail, and he can only watch as his guards eyes finally close._

"_No...not again...LAN FAN!" _

_His sobbing scream seems to rouse her, but not for long, because soon her eyes are closing again, and the pauses between her breaths are becoming longer. Just before her eyes close for what Ling knows will be the final time, the bodyguard speaks her last words. _

"_Young lord, why couldn't you have saved me?"_

Ling gasped as his eyes flew open and he bolted upright on the hotel room couch. When the sudden brightness of the room his his eyes he hissed in pain and pressed his hands against his eyes, but even after they eased to the light he kept it there, breathing heavily. His heart was hammering in his chest and he could feel the sweat that had broken on his forehead.

"A dream...it was just a dream..." he repeated the words over and over to himself, but the nightmare remained engraved in his mind. Which was hardly surprising since it had repeated itself night after night.

The hand on his eyes slid up to his forehead. He arched a leg and rested his elbow on it. His heart had reached it's normal beat now but he was still breathing heavily. He wiped the sweat off his brow, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes again.

Lan Fan's death was his fault, he knew that and he didn't try to deceive himself otherwise, and as much as he wished he could take it back, not even a prince of Xing-hell, not even a philosophers stone-could bring back the dead.

But that didn't mean he couldn't make it fist clenched with volition, and just then Ed and Al burst through the hotel room door followed by a stream of profanities.

"That evil son of a bitch!" Ed snarled, his eyes flashing "I'm gonna tear it apart with my own two-" the boy stopped when he saw an awake Ling, and in a surprising nano-second all anger melted away from his face. Both brothers stopped in the doorway and looked at him as if they'd been taken by surprise.

Ling raised an eyebrow. _Why would they be surprised? I've been here since this afternoon. Wait a minute. _He focused on Ed. Or, more specifically, his forehead, where a patch of white bandage was peeping out from underneath his gold bangs.

"Ed. What happened to your head?" he pointed to the spot on his own forehead.

"Oh. That" the blonde absent mindedly rubbed his forehead and winced, but Ling got the feeling that wasn't the only reason why the short alchemist appeared so uncomfortable.

"Ed?"

The boy opened his mouth, but whatever he'd been about to say obviously caught in his throat because he looked up at his armoured brother, and when Al gave no response except to turn his head in his brothers direction and lift his hands helplessly, Ed sighed, and reached around to close the door before he came towards Ling and sat on the couch in front of him. His expression was uncharacteristically soft, something Ling didn't think he'd seen...well..._ever. _

_What the hell is eating this guy? _He wondered before the alchemist opened his mouth again. Thankfully, it was one of those times where words actually came out of the mouth..

"Ling, Al and I were attacked tonight" the statement made the prince's eyes widen a fraction and he opened his mouth to say something, but the alchemist raised a hand to silence him "But the thing that attacked us, it wasn't human. It was some kind of monster that looked like a kid, and could extend parts of it's body into knives and shape shift"

Ling blinked "A homunculus?" he guessed, but Ed shook his head.

"No, it said it wasn't a homunculus. But it definitely wasn't human either"

"...Alright" Ling nodded, wondering why Ed was explaining all this so seriously "What's with the seriousness? You don't usually go this long without screaming at me for something"

That earned him a pissed off look from the alchemist but a warning sound from his brother-who had joined him on the couch-prevented him from developing on it. Instead, his eyes flickered to the ground for the barest of seconds and then back up to Ling.

_Geeze, why can't he just spit it out already? It's not like I'm a little kid whose gonna piss his pants and run away when he hears about scary monsters-_out of nowhere his dream suddenly flashed back into his memory, and he winced at the images that filled his head. Then his eyes widened.

_He wouldn't be delicate...unless..._

And finally, Edward finished, confirming what the prince already knew "Before the monster ran off, it confessed that it killed Major Armstrong, and as...as Lan Fan's murder was identical to his-"

"You think it killed her too" Ling finished for him in a horrified whisper, and knew he was correct the second Ed's pained face didn't voice an answer. He didn't even realised he'd gasped until his body nearly folded in half from the breath that left him. His head fell towards his knee's so that his ponytail fell across his neck. His hands clutched his knee's in a bruising grip, and he was pretty sure those shallow breaths were his.

So this...this was what had killed his bodyguard...a monster...a child like monster...a _child..._

"A child?" Ling lifted his head in disbelief "A _child _killed her?!"

"It was supernaturally fast and strong Ling" Ed quickly told him, pulling back the arm he'd outstretched when it looked like the prince was about to keel over "The fact that Al and I are even standing here now is out of luck!" he assured him, but this did nothing to assuage Ling's crushing indignation. One of his people was murdered by a Goddamn _kid!_

He stood sharply and his cold black eyes fixed on Ed "Do you know where it is now?" he demanded.

"No. It ran off before we could catch it" _damn it... _"But we've told the Colonel what we know and he's gonna relay it to our Fuhrer, and his own team is searching for it-"

"Good. I'll help"

Ed blinked at him at the bold offer, but then his expression softened, and when he stood there was an annoying glint of empathy in his eyes "Look, I know you wanna find the killer, but I think you should leave it up to-"

"Why?" Ling snapped, and Ed didn't fail to notice the bandaged hands that were clenching into fists "It's not like I'd be useless, Ed! I bet I can track down people better than half the men in your army! _And _fight better too!"

"Look, I'm not denying that you're good!" Ed shot back "But don't think I'm stupid, Ling, I know better than anyone the kind of stupid stuff people are likely to do when their grieving so I don't think-"

"Are you forgetting who I am, Ed?!" Ling yelled, his voice laced with anger and getting right up in the blonde's personal space so he was almost spitting in the boy's face "I am a prince of Xing, the twelfth son of our emperor and I was raised to follow in his footsteps since birth! Do you think I wasn't taught any self control?!"

Ed responded to that by glancing down towards his shirt. Ling followed his gaze, and blinked in surprise when he saw his fist bunched up in the blonde's tank top.

Damn...he hadn't even realised...ignoring the knowing look on Ed's face he mumbled an apology and let the boy go (surprising himself further when he heard the sound of Ed's shoes hitting the floor) and turned away from the brothers, hearing Al release a sound of relief behind him.

Ed sighed, and dusted down his crumpled shirt "You see what I mean, now?" he said gently "You might be a prince, Ling, but you're also a kid who lost someone they care about. You need to grieve before you do anything else. Otherwise, you might do something you'll regret"

Ling's fists clenched harder, and had he been facing the brothers at that moment, they would've seen the rebellious black fire dancing in the princes eyes. _That's what you think._

"Ed, I'm grateful for your concern" he made sure his voice was even as he spoke, controlling the swirling emotions within him so he didn't seem like some crazy person "But I promise I know what I'm doing" he turned around, making sure to look Ed dead in the eye as he spoke "I'm helping you hunt this thing down. Whether you like it or not"

FMAB

Envy had been at the Curtis' home in Dublith when she'd called him. Since his power had been taken from him he'd been _forced_ to crawl into the crime scene during the night like some common human thief, and to put a cherry on top of that he had been able to find nothing but a few smashed windows, a hell of a lot of rubble, and several small bloodstains. He'd been busy thinking of what an enormous waste of time this all was (thank you Father...thank you _so much!_) when the Curtis' phone had started ringing. Envy had picked it up, knowing who would be, and when a disgruntled-sounding Lust had ordered him back to Central he'd hopped onto the next train (literally, he'd hopped onto the roof and allowed the train to carry him) and arrived in the city just before dawn broke.

Envy jumped off the train before anyone else did, lifting the hood of the black cloak he'd worn to hide his...unusual appearance over his mess of hair as he exited the station and headed for the darkest part of the street. It was empty. What a shock.

_Now, _the homunculus thought to himself as he looked around the empty walkway, _I wonder what time she's gonna choose to turn up?_

"Well, you took your time"

_Ah, there she is..._

Envy smirked and pulled down his hood "Sorry about that. Some kid got run over by the train and they slowed down the whole schedule so the pathetic mess could be cleared off"

"How inconsiderate" the morbid joke made Lust's voice lilt with humour as she stepped out of the shadows, and Envy pressed his back against a wall as she approached.

"So, you wanna tell me why you called me back here so soon?" he asked, inspecting his nails "I had barely gotten to that dust heap they call a crime scene when you called"

"Of course, but you won't like it" a frown came to the androgynous sin's face, and when the two homunculi started walking through the darkened parts of Central city she continued, her tone making it sound like she was admitting to a humiliating act "I had an encounter with the creature you faced last night"

Envy twisted his head towards her "You _what?!" _

"Yes. I was out on surveillance when it attacked the Elric brothers, and when I was forced to step in and help them, I got a taste of it's power for myself" Envy stared at his sister, both shocked (and a little peeved) that she was still alive. How could it be that she escaped unscathed while he-_Envy!-_was torn limb from limb?! That just wasn't fair!

"What the he-how did you escape?!" he nearly screeched in fury.

"I didn't" Lust admitted, irritation biting the edges of her words. This only served to infuriate the smaller sin further.

"You mean you let it escape?! _How?! _Father's gonna kill us when he finds out, you idiot!" Envy roared, and Lust looked at him sharply.

"Quite frankly, Envy, if I were you I'd be more concerned about myself!" she snapped, and he looked at her in both irritation and confusion.

"Me? Why?"

Within the darkness in which they trod, Lust's light, musical chuckle filled the shadows, and Envy only realised she was not walking with him when he didn't hear the sound of her heels tapping on the stone ground anymore. He turned back, and saw the red glow of her eyes within her darkened silhouette.

"Lust?"

"Tell me, Envy" he could practically _feel _her smirk running along his skin! "How do you think Father is going to react when he finds out that the beast you faced is a shape shifter?"

"...I'm sorry, I'm gonna need you to repeat that" because there was no way she'd said _shape shifter! _No. It was impossible, no other being could do what he did!

"The skinny little boy with white eyes and filthy clothing?" as Lust spoke Envy's non-existent heart fell into his stomach. No...it couldn't be... "Yes. He's a shape shifter, Envy. He transformed right in front of me"

The woman sounded far too entertained for Envy's taste, but that didn't matter as, right at that moment, he was too busy trying to stop his stomach tearing itself out of his body. He knew his mouth was hanging open like a fool. He knew his eyes were popping like a fool. He didn't give a flying fuck "...I-!...Wha-!...NO!" Envy screeched, slicing an arm of denial through the air and shaking his head so that his palm tree hair flew at all angles "That's impossible! If he had that power then why the hell didn't he just use that on _me?!" _at the last word he thumped himself on the chest.

Lust stalked forward, and as she passed the infuriated homunculus she said "Maybe because he didn't have it then"

"What the hell're you talking about?!"

Lust chuckled "Well, maybe after his encounter with you he borrowed it for a spell"

_Oh come on, that's impossible! _Those were the words Envy meant to say, but for some reason the words never left his lips, and against his will his anger-addled mind began to work against him.

_For almost three hundred years he'd had his power...there was never a single glitch in it until the creature tore him apart...they didn't even know what this thing was, and it certainly wasn't a homunculus...it had unbelievable power, strength, and speed. And now Envy had lost his power, while this creature seemed to be having no problem with flaunting it about..._

_What if there was more to it than he'd first thought...what if...somehow...it had the ability to take his powers away, and claim them for itself?_

_...That little BASTAAAAAAAAAAAARD!_

"Son of a BITCH!" Lust softly groaned when a chunk of wall roughly the size of a small boulder fell victim to Envy's fist. He liked to pretend that he was the most superior of the homunculi and yet sometimes he acted like such a child!

"Keep it down, will you? If the humans wake and see us-"

"I'LL KILL THAT LITTLE SHIT!" O.k, he was lost..."WHAT RIGHT DOES HE HAVE TO TAKE WHAT IS MINE?! I'M GONNA TEAR THE SKIN OFF HIS BODY AND RIP HIS SPINE OUT OF HIS MOUTH AND _USE IT ON HIM AS A NOOSE!" _he swung out a leg and another chunk of wall the size of a car tyre broke off of the building and a plume of smoke engulfed the temperamental homunculus, he was breathing heavily despite the dust and his whole body, which was bent at the back with wrath, was moving with each violent breath.

Lust wrinkled her nose and flicked out her hand when the dust cloud dared to creep up on her. She huffed impatiently at Envy "Would you calm down, please? You'll get your chance to kill him once he's captured" violet eyes flashed towards her and Lust smirked, turning her back on him and continuing to walk through the darkened street "Wrath has half his military searching for him, after all so he'll be found and captured soon enough. Once our Father has finished with him, I'm sure he'll let you play to your hearts content"

Behind her, Envy's body straightened up. His mouth was pressed into a firm line, and he watched Lust walk away from him with hard eyes. So, the only way he would get his vengeance would be after their Father was 'Done with it' huh? Envy the Jealous might've been an emotional, violent little freak, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that once their creator got what he wanted that it could be months-maybe even years-before he would even consider giving it up. And once he learned it could claim the powers of a homunculus for it's own? Yeah, he was never going to be 'Done' with that creature, and Envy wasn't known for his patience.

_Screw waiting for Father to finish with him, _he thought as he slunk Lust, _once I get a hold of that little bastard, I'm gonna be the last face it ever sees..._

_**Sh#tty chapter, I know, I know! But I swear, To God! The next one will have the sh#t hitting the fan (which I know any FMA fan loves) so please do me the honour of reviewing (could you tell me what you thought of Mustang telling the Elrics about Sig? Should he have said anything or should he not? I'm in a major conflict about it) and the next chapter will be up on the 23rd.**_


End file.
